


To heal a broken heart

by Totally_lucky



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, adrienette - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-04-29 19:52:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 61,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5140460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Totally_lucky/pseuds/Totally_lucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One evening Marinette found out that she broke Chat's heart and having been heartbroken herself by Adrien she decided to help him heal... Join the duo on their wild games of matchmaking and love as well as dealing with their issues and trying to build a healthy, trusting relationship :D Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. If only I had someone to talk to...

Chat was hiding in a tree at a park. His heart was still aching and his eyes were full of unshed tears. He could not cry, he must not cry, he had to be strong and live through it just as a lot of others did and still do. The pain of the rejection was still feeling very fresh and recent although it happened a couple of weeks ago. He, Chat Noir, poured out his heart to the only one who he loved and adored, to his Lady. He told her just how much he loves her, how he always thinks of her, how he cannot imagine any kind of future without her. He hoped that she will accept him, that she will also love him, or at least like him a little more then a friend.  
“I am really sorry Chat….. I wish I could love you more than a friend but unfortunately, that spot in my heart is filled. I am sorry….”  
His world was shattered, even thought he made it looked as nothing special has had happened.  
“It alright My Lady. I guess it isn’t time yet.”  
But the time seems to never arrive. Almost a month has passed and he still felt the pain, the embarrassment, the despair and jealousy towards the lucky one who had HIS Lady’s heart. They still patrolled on a daily basis and fought akumas once in a while, but the relationship between them was not the same. The sadness and silent apology were present in every word, in every look. His Lady was really sympathetic and he knew that it was not anyone’s fault that his affections were one-sided but it didn’t help with the dull pain in his heart, with his misery.  
Chat was about to head home from his hiding place when he spotted her on a bench trying to catch a breath. She must have been running home late and sat down to catch her breath. She was really pretty and he knew she had a crush on him. He also new that she had been through a situation just like his a couple of months ago, her's however was much worse - her rejection became public. Marinette had confessed her love to Adrian. She was shy, she was cute and blushed all the time but he couldn’t say the same back to her. Adrien liked her, but his Lady had his heart. Marinette accepted her rejection gracefully (not counting the tears that were about to roll); she walked away and never mentioned this topic again to him. Imagine her horror when the next day the video file was sent to everyone in a school featuring her confession. They never found out who did it but Marinette had a REALLY hard time in a school, if it wasn’t for Alya who was guarding her at all times she would probably dropped out. Adrien felt very sorry for her but he couldn’t help himself to change his feelings.  
“Maybe she can help me? She knows how it feels” - the thought was quick and he already was standing before her.  
“ Hi Marinette! Do you mind if I sit here… with you… for a while?”  
Marinette glanced at him surprisingly.  
“Of course, suit yourself. How is Paris-saving business going? Any good villains lately?”  
“Ha, very funny. How can they be good? Um... I ... was actually hoping... you can help me?”  
The surprise in her eyes very louder than the words - “Me? How?”  
“Well, you … were…. in a situation….like couple of months ago….” He was already regretting but there were no way back and it couldn’t hurt to talk to someone.  
“Oh! That…” The sadness returned to her eyes, just as he remembered at the moment he broke her heart. “What can I help you with? It’s not a very enriching experience. And how do you know?”  
“The video….”  
She was about to start crying and Chat regretted once more his actions. But he continued anyway. “How do you deal with it all? How do you deal with the pain? How can you smile again when you see him there sitting in front of you and knowing that he will probably never be yours?”  
Marinette knew exactly why he was asking those questions, she knew that it must still hurt him. She was hurting herself for the same reason. But she couldn’t let him suspect that she knows so she continued quietly. “I have a good support, I guess. My friend spent days sleeping at my house before I was able to fall asleep without crying. My Mom and Dad were extra sensitive and very understanding. And it does get a little better with time. You just learn to live with the pain. But the family and friends are the best remedy. Don’t you have friends and family”  
“No, not really”  
Marinette was watching him in shock and confusion.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well, my father is an absent one, I don’t have a mother or any siblings. I have one friend but I can’t tell him that I got rejected by Ladybug because I can’t let anyone to know that I am Chat Noir.”  
“I am so sorry Chat…. I didn’t know.”

Marinette leaned over and hugged the poor boy’s frame.

“ I am really-really sorry” 

Her arms were warm and caring and Chat melted into the comfort they provided. The long-overdue tears started to escape his eyes and Marinette was wishing with all of her being that she would be able to help him, to be able to heal his broken heart.

“ I’ll help you Chat. I’ll be your friend. We’ll heal together, wouldn’t we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love to communicate with my readers so feel free to rant in the comment's area.
> 
> Please note: English is a strange and wonderful language where many words have multiple meanings and slang can change depending on your country of origin. It is my third language so while I will do my very best, there may be mistakes made along the way. Also, this was my very first fan fiction/written story ever and I don't think I will edit it, just so I can compare how far along I got but still I hope you'll enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

“Having second thoughts about rejecting Marinette, Adrien? She smells nice.”

“ I didn’t know you like the smell of strawberries, cinnamon, warmth…”

“Ugh! No, I have no idea who YOU smelled, but I smelled the freshly baked cheese bread….”

“Plagg!”

“What? It’s not my fault that I am highly sensitive to cheese smell. It’s a survival mechanism!”

“Oh, Plagg. What am I going to do with you?”

“ I might have a few suggestions. First….”

Adrien didn’t hear anything anymore. That night he was sleeping peacefully for the first time in weeks as he dreamed of strawberry fields and the warm, rising sun. 

__________________

“It’s two o’clock in a morning, Marinette… Are you even thinking about going to sleep?”

“I just can’t get myself to forget how miserable he was… I didn’t know that he had it that bad, that he didn’t have anyone to comfort him, to just be there for him. I wish I could help him, but, really, what can I do?”

“You’ll think of something Marinette. But now you have to go to sleep. There is still school, you know.”

“I’ll try, Tikki.”  
___________________

“Hello, Marinette!”

“Chat what are you doing here? Get down or someone will see you”.

It was Saturday morning and Chat was standing on her balcony, picking into her room, searching for her.

“Hi, I just wanted to see if you were just as bored as I am”

There was a wide grin on his face and, definitely, a small hint in his voice.

“ Aw, are you bored, kitty? Well, if you want you can help me with my homework. My parents are out of the house today for their conference, so nobody will see you. Do you like physics?”

“I love physics!!! In fact, I am the best in my class!” 

The homework was exactly the same Adrien did last night but he didn’t want Marinette to suspect anything. He didn’t want her to know that he was the boy who broke her heart just a short while ago. He was even unsure why he had come; he just wanted to feel that comfort again, to be free of any pretences, to be free to be himself - neither cheeky Chat nor serious Adrien. Just himself. Right now, she was the only person he felt freedom to do so.

The homework was done in a flash and board games were pulled out. Then the fabrics came in play and impromptu fashion show was staged, the lunch (which featured cheese bread to much of Plagg’s delight) and a movie. Adrien had to recharge Plagg a couple of times and Marinette was gladly going downstairs while little kwami was devouring the freshly baked treats. They laughed and giggled, made fun of each other and shared their secret wishes. Marinette didn’t even mind his light flirtation remarks. They weren’t as persistent and annoying as the once he granted to Ladybug and she rather enjoyed them. Chat on the other hand was discovering how fun and extraordinary his shy classmate was. She was also very pretty. It was a day they will remember forever, it was a start of a friendship, a bond.

“It was fun, Princess. I wish we could have more of those days. Thank you!” 

Standing on her balcony Chat leaned in and lightly kissed her cheek, causing the red flash to appear on her pretty face. In this moment Chat wished that he wouldn’t be so preoccupied with Ladybug to completely miss pretty, sweet Marinette. Unfortunately, it was too late now and he was in love with his Lady. At the same time Marinette wished that she would have met Chat before she met Adrien. Maybe then everything would be different. But it wasn’t, she still loved that handsome, out of reach to her Adrien.

 

“ It was fun, Chat. I didn’t know you could be so …”

“What?” 

“So…likeable? She flashed again smiling lightly at him.

“HA-ha-ha! Very funny Princess, I am the most likeable cat in a neighbourhood! But I am afraid I need to leave you know. Duty calls!”

“You need to patrol the city? With Ladybug?” Ops! She completely forgot about it. “ Alright, I wish you a quiet night. Goodbye!”. 

Marinette pushed the astonished cat out of the window. She had to sneak out and be on their meeting point in less then 5 minute and she wasn’t going to let him found out that he just spend the day giggling with the girl who cause him so much pain. She couldn’t hurt him again and deprive him of an only truly understanding friend he had. She couldn’t do it to herself either.  
_______________________

The patrol went without any troubles. Ladybug noticed that Chat was much happier than he was in weeks. She was proud and scared at the same time. Proud for helping him, scared for him to know the truth and hurt him even more.

________________________ 

“Marinette, you are staring in the ceiling again. What’s wrong?” 

“Tikki… I can’t do it anymore. I am so confused. I know I have to choose but I can’t…”

“I don’t think, it’s the choice that worries you, Marinette.” The kwami was smiling knowingly, “I think, it’s the acceptance and letting go that worries you so much. Can’t you just for one time forget everything and listen to your heart, really listen to what it tells you?”

For the last couple of months they have spent their days stealing “dates” from time to time. Chat would appear at her window at least once or twice a week. They would spend their time in her room or climb to the roofs of the buildings where none could see them. They would talk and laugh,they would play and giggle. There were no tension between them, both of them were able to really be themselves but each one understood that this could not go on forever. Both of them wanted to reveal to each other who they were but both were terrified to do so. They didn’t want to betray each others trust and cause more pain. 

In addition there were “complications”. Just when Chat thought that he might be falling for Marinette, Ladybug became extra attentive to him, reigniting his feelings once more. She would tease him and pet him; she would accept his compliments and flush brightly to much of his satisfaction. He started to suspect that maybe she was keen on him after all. In a same manner Adrien became more involved in Marinette’s life. He was caught starring at her multiple times by Alya, who was quick to point it out to Marinette. He always seems to find a place to have his lunch dangerously close to where the girls sat if not at their table. He offered multiple times to help her carry something, help her with her homework and he even walked her home (together with Alya and Nino of course) on numerous occasions. She was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he was starting to like her back. But there also was Chat…

“Ugh!!! This is so confusing!”

“It’s not, really, Marinette.” Tikki petted the girl’s hair lightly. “Which one of them you feel more comfortable with? Who makes you feel special? Who do you think will accept ALL aspects of your life, Marinette?”

The girl was looking dreamingly thought the window in direction of the balcony for a moment.

“The third one” she whispered.

Tikki’s eye went round, jaw dropped and ability to speak disappeared for a full minute.

“Wha…? Did I miss…? Marinette! What are you talking about? Who is the third one?

“Chat, but not the one whom Ladybug knows, Tikki. The one who I know. Sweet, kind, brave and funny. Adrien is sweet and serious, Ladybug’s Chat is brave and a flirt, but the Chat I know is a perfect combination of them both. If only he could be that open with Ladybug… It would be perfect. I wouldn’t need to hide my identity and also be myself”.

Tikki was floating in circles deep in her thoughts when her eyes grew big and a huge smile appeared.

“Marinette, didn’t you promise Chat to help him with Ladybug? Why don’t you teach him how to behave with her? Give him some advice and tell him to try them out. I am sure Ladybug will not refuse him again.”

“ You are genius, Tikki! And it’s Valentine Day in a week! Operation Valentine?”

“Operation Valentine!” Tikki smiled happily. At last, she thought, maybe, just maybe, it will all work out well.  
________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would Chat be happy to get a chance to wow his Lady??? Or is he having doubts?


	3. Games

“Lessons???”

Chat was surprised to say the least. It was a wonderful sunny day and he hoped to take his friend out to the roof of that building where they could see children playing in the park and boats going up and down the Seine. Instead of Marinette was proposing to teach him how to make Ladybug fall in love with him. 

“Why would I need lessons? I AM naturally charming.”

“I am sure you are, Chat! But it didn’t work with Ladybug, now, did it? It’s not like I will teach you something, I will just give you some suggestions as to what you can do to improve you “charminess”. Come on, kitty, you do want Ladybug to like you? And it’s a perfect time of the year too. Valentine’s day is in a week. If we are smart and quick she will be your valentine and you might even score a kiss… Please, say yes, Chat?”

Marinette was looking at him with pleading eyes but Chat was looking at the window so she couldn’t see his face. If the girl could, she would notice a little sadness in his eyes, more like a disappointment. He continued to stand there looking nowhere in particular. It seemed like he was trying very hard to find something in his head, deep inside himself.

“Why do you want to do it, Marinette? Why all of the sudden you want me to try again? Do you want to see me hurt once more? Or did you miss my embarrassing crying on your shoulder?” 

He teased her through now obvious sadness which Marinette attributed to the fact that he was forced to relive his heartbreak again. She smiled softly at him.

“No, of course I don’t want you hurt. Quiet the opposite, I want you to be happy and I promised you to help heal your heart, didn’t I? I just suddenly have this persistent feeling that this time she won’t push you away, Chat… with some help from a girl who knows what girls want. I think she is finally ready to accept you and love you for who you truly are.” 

 

He stayed there for a while staring out the window until suddenly his face lit up with a sly grin and a flicker of mischief appeared in his eyes. He turned sharply to face Marinette.

“Why not, princess. Show me what you’ve got. Let’s go get Ladybug fall in love with me”

“Hooray! I promise, you won’t regret it, kitty”. 

Marinette jumped from joy and in a moment of happiness leaned forward and landed a quick kiss on his cheek, blushing horribly. Chat was startled. 

“O, I am pretty sure I won’t regret, princess”.  
_________________________

The day flew by very quickly as Marinette was trying very hard to “teach” Chat what he should and shouldn’t do around Ladybug. She provided him with all of the small little things that girls liked but boys seemed to forget or ignore all the time. She somehow suddenly knew what Ladybug liked and didn’t like about Chat. Amused and a bit confused he was busy putting it all on paper in a borrowed notepad. 

“And remember, Chat, the main thing to be yourself around her. Just as you behave yourself with me. I bet Ladybug would’ve fallen for you a long time ago if you would have toned down your flirtatious advances and just was yourself.”

“Got it! Thanks Marinette. Now I am all armed to sweep my Lady from her feet. By the way, have you ever noticed how beautiful your eyes are? They are gorgeously blue and radiant.” 

His grin grew bigger and bigger just as Marinette's face became redder and redder. 

“See you in a couple of days, princess!”

He was gone in a flash. Marinette stood there until she could no longer see him jumping between the houses. He just used one of the tricks she has armed him with on her.

“Are you sure it was a good idea, Tikki?”  
___________________________

Adrien couldn’t stop smile when he arrived home. He gave Plagg his fair share of cheese for holding an extremely long transformation and started to review his “improve your “charminess” notes.

“What are you planning Adrien. I didn’t think you wanted to pursue Ladybug again, or was I wrong?”

“Oh no, you are not wrong Plagg. I am not going that road again. But I am just confused as to her motives? Why would Marinette do it? Doen’t she see…. or ….or… I just don’t get it!”

Adrien’s smile was long gone and now there was a confusion on his face. The day was getting to it’s end. The room was getting darker.

“What you don’t get? She probably got tired of you and wants to pursue Adrien again. It’s not like you were a thing or anything. Just friends and Adrien was EXTREMELY interested in Marinette recently, wasn’t he?”

Plagg smiled slyly at Adrien. But that remark only added to his worrisome look.

“Oh believe me! I went high and low to let Marinette know how interested Adrien is. If that would've worked I would’ve not had an issue about the whole secret identity reveal. We could just hang out as Adrien and Marinette. Go finally on a real date, hang out like a normal couple and not spending our days hiding from the people and trying to figure out how to find each other. It would’ve been wonderful! 

“It would've been? Why? Didn’t it worked? Did I sleep that much? I seems to miss a lot of your daylight life because I am so exhausted after those hours you spend with Marinette.” 

“That’s the problem, Plagg. It didn’t. It’s like Marinette suddenly lost most of her interest in Adrien. Nino even suggested that maybe she found someone else. He tried to get an info from Alya but she said that she doesn’t know of anyone else. And believe me Alya would've known if there was someone.”

Now Plagg was puzzled and confused. Kwami thought long and hard floating around until he suddenly jumped.

“Could she have actually fallen for Chat? You did spend a lot of time together and honestly I think that you both enjoyed it.”

Adrien looked at the kwami smiling, wondering if it really took him that long to finally have this realisation.

“I hoped so too. I was already starting to think how to reveal to her my secret without spoiling anything. I was going to take her out for Valentine’s Day and tell her then. You know, the grand romantic feature first and then - ta - da! I am Adrien! Please, don’t run away. “

Adrien paused for a moment imagining the surprise on her face and a dozen of different reactions and how he would react to each one of them so in the end they will embrace and … he blushed.

“But now she proposes to get Ladybug and me together. Can’t she see that I like her much more than Ladybug? Or maybe there is really someone else? I don’t get it. I just don’t… What kind of game is she playing? 

The confused look was gone, replaced by a smirk.

“But if my princess wants to play games, we will oblige, won’t we, Plagg?”

“We will?” 

Plague was surprised that his usually persistent chosen one was giving up so easily.

“Of course we will, Plagg. Playing doesn’t mean losing. Whatever this game is we will win it.”

“We will? 

Plagg was more confused than ever. A piece of cheese which Adrien just in time handed to him seems to help him a lot.

“Of course we will, Adrien!”


	4. Conquer that lady

Tomorrow… tomorrow all her problems will finally start to resolve. Chat was supposed to start his week-long quest to capture his Lady's heart and she was supposed to reciprocate. Marinette knew for sure that she will and she was extremely happy that everything was finally getting in place. Her face was lit by a soft smile but nobody could hide from Tikki a little of sadness in the girl’s eyes.

“Marinette, what is it? Isn’t that what you wanted? Are you having doubts? Do you want to be with Adrien instead?”

Kwami was concerned because it was such a delicate matter for a young girl.

“Oh, no. I am not changing my mind, Tikki, I mean, I still have some feelings for Adrien but at the rate that I am falling for MY Chat I predict that in a week of being his girlfriend my heart will be his completely. It is… just … sometimes I wish that he would chose me.”

Tikki was confused.

“What do you mean? He did or better he will in a week, on Valentine’s Day”

“No, It is just that sometimes I wish that Chat, or whoever else for that matter would chose Marinette over Ladybug. She is such an amazing superhero and it is very easy to fall in love with her. I bet half of the teenage boys in Paris probably at some point had a thing about Ladybug; but wouldn’t it be amazing if somebody could have a choice between both of us and choose shy Marinette over famous Ladybug? That would be really true love.”

She looked with her big, wishful eyes at the sunset and signed quietly….

“But that is just a dream, Tikki. There is no way someone would prefer me to her.”  
______________________

Monday

“Plagg, where is my list?”

Kwami was innocently looking from the basket where just yesterday were mountains of cheese. He gasped. 

“Adrien, I didn’t! How can you even think that I could?!!! That list is disgusting anyway - give some flowers, compliment out of blue, but not too obvious…Blah, Blah, Blah… As if I COULD even stomach it!”

Plagg looked horribly hurt as Adrien was running around the room looking for his notes from the previous night. He planned to start his conquest today and he wanted to do every single thing from that list do she would remember this week forever.

“Found it! Let’s go, Plagg! We’ll be late for school.”  
______________________

Marinette’s day started rather unexpectedly. The minute she opened her eyes she saw her adorable kwami floating right above her eyes and grinning heavily.

“There is a present for you, Marinette.”

The girl looked around but saw nothing out of ordinary. She looked confusingly at Tikki.

“Look out the window, sweetie.”

A beautiful bouquet of red and white roses was lying right outside her window. It was huge, probably 50 roses all together and it was absolutely magnificent. Tied to the stems was a small black cat stuffed toy with a note in his paws. Marinette opened the window and picked up the bouquet. She buried her face in soft petals of the flowers smelling the stunning aroma that filled the room. A smile lit her face immediately, happiness surfaced in her eyes and warmth spread through her body. She was overjoyed. She had never before received flowers of such beauty. She had never received flowers from anyone at all, for that matter, except her dad, but that doesn’t count. 

“Who is the sender, Marinette? Check the card.” nudged Tikki.

Marinette untied the black kitten and showed it to Tikki.

“I think we both know who the sender is. Let’s see what the card says - 

“Good morning, my Princess. Thank you for your help yesterday. I will start my conquest today and will keep you updated.” 

Aw, this is so cute. I can’t wait for you to conquer Ladybug.”

“Marinette, weren’t he supposed to pursue Ladybug?”

“Of course, Tikki. He was and he will.”

“Why then did he bring these roses to you?”

“Oh, Tikki, it’s just a thank you present. See, it says so in the card. Do you really think he will go for me when he can have Ladybug? Don’t be ridiculous. Let’s get ready for school and go on a patrol after. I wonder what Chat prepared for Ladybug if Marinette got this gorgeous bouquet.”

She smelled the roses one more time and looked through the window with her eyes full of dreams and hopes.

School went as always, nothing special, nothing excited. Marinette couldn’t wait to get back home and to start her patrol. She had to get rid of Alya first and get her homework done but as soon as she did the girl was out there looking around very hard, not for the akumas this time but for a certain kitty cat. After a couple of hours Tikki started to nudge Marinette to get home.

“Marinette, I don’t think he’ll come today. He probably is busy with something. He did say once that he had a lot of extracurricular activities and a part time job. Let’s go home, we’ll find him tomorrow.”

“But he was supposed to start pursuing me today. I can’t deny him this chance, Tikki. Ten more minutes, please.”

But neither ten, not twenty more minutes helped. He didn’t come. Marinette thought that maybe kwami was right and went home to catch some sleep before school.  
____________________

Adrien was sitting behind his desk, writing, cutting and gluing something. He was hard at work not for the first hour now. Plagg was starting to worry that he forgot about his patrol responsibilities.

“Adrien, when are we going out? You have to go on patrol today, you know.”

“Oh, we are not going out today, Plagg.” 

The boy continued to do his work completely ignoring astonished kwami. In all this time they spent together Adrien never, and he repeated NEVER missed his patrol. What could be so important that was keeping him away this time.

“And why is that, can I know?”

“Easy, do you want me to lie to Marinette?”

Plagg was confused.

“Nooo….”

“Good, then we are TOO busy to go out today.”

“May I find out the reason for being TOO busy to go out for a patrol with Ladybug whom you promised Marinette to start impress today?”

Adrien stood suddenly and went out of the room without a single word. He came back in five minutes carrying a huge basket of cheese which he placed in front of the salivated Plagg.

“Plagg, you are TOO busy because you need to finish this delicious cheese and I am too busy because I have stuff to do.”

“So, you are not telling me why?”

“Nope, not now at least.”  
____________________

Tuesday

Marinette was the first to wake up. Tikki was too exhausted after yesterday’s patrol. She got out of bed and started to get ready for a school. The girl glanced quickly at the window and stopped in her tracks - there were a thermos, a box tied with a pretty ribbon and an envelop with an “Update” written on it on the same spot she has found roses yesterday. Marinette’s heart started pumping rapidly and a blush appeared on her cheeks as she was taking everything inside. The thermos contained her favourite coffee and in the box she found delicious cinnamon rolls. She poured coffee in a cup and started to read a letter from the envelop while wondering where did he find those delicious buns.

“My dear Marinette,  
I thought I will give you an update on my quest. Unfortunately, I was extremely busy yesterday with all of my activities and I couldn’t make it to my patrol. So I went today in a morning in hopes to see Ladybug. I am very sorry for failing you and I hope that today will bring me more luck.  
Will keep you updated.  
Yours truly.  
P.S. I found those rolls in one cafe on my patrol this morning and thought you just had to try them. I was just passing by so that was no problem. You are welcome :)”

“Why are you grinning and flashing at the same time, Marinette?”

The girl jumped up from the surprise - Tikki was floating right in from of her eyes and somehow she didn’t noticed the kwami.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just reading Chat’s update. He said he was very busy yesterday, so he is patrolling right now.”

“We cannot go right now, you know that, right? You have school. And where did you get these cinnamon rolls? I though it was a Thursday’s feature at your dad’s bakery?”

Marinette flashed even more.

“Chat left them for me when he was passing by. Anyway, this is a good start of the day. Let’s hope that Chat will meet his Lady after school. Let’s go, Tikki, school is not going to disappear.”

Tikki thought for a moment that Marinette was trying too hard to finish this conversation, but she quickly forgot everything when the girl shared her cinnamon roll with the kwami.  
____________________

“Don’t tell me we are not going on patrol today either, Adrien. I missed the fresh air, I missed…”

Plagg was almost crying in despair.

“No, Plagg. Today we are going. Transform! Chat Noir!”

Chat opened his window and jumped outside. He quickly looked all around, then he went around his house trying very hard to look around every time he stopped. When Chat made the full circle, he jumped inside his window and released his transformation. Plagg flew out of the ring with such confusion and misunderstanding on his face that Adrien couldn’t stop laughing for a while.

“What was that, Adrien?”

“My patrol. What else did you think?”

“That’s it? I mean, I understand… well, to be honest, I don’t but what was that????!!!!”

Adrien continued to laugh. Then he winked at the kwami.

“I promised Marinette to go on a patrol today, so I did. I didn’t promise to go all over Paris.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Adrien. You are lucky, despite being bond with me, that there is no akuma attack.”

“If they attack, I am going to fight, Plagg. Don’t worry about that. Let’s go to sleep, I have a big day tomorrow.”  
____________________

Wednesday

Tikki was shaking Marinette very hard.

“Wake up you sleepy head!!! Wake up! You overslept!!!”

Marinette jumped out of bed. How could this happen? Well, she pretty much knew how - they patrolled longer then usual yesterday trying to find Chat. He didn’t come again… The girl went straight to the window to see if there was an update from Chat. There was nothing… Not a good start she thought not knowing what was more disappointing - the fact that Ladybug didn’t meet Chat yesterday or the fact that Chat didn’t bring her anything. Not even a note! Definitely, not a good day!

School was even worse. She noticed that Adrien was avoiding her all day. When she would enter the room he would leave under all kind of excuses; when she came with Alya to sit besides Nino and Adrien at a lunch he stuffed everything in his mouth in a flash and left “to use a bathroom” for the tenth time so far. Then he asked a teacher to switch teams during the gym play of volleyball so he can avoid to be with Marinette on the same team she suspected. That was the last drop!

“Alya, what’s wrong with Adrien? Why is he avoiding me all of the sudden?”

Alla looked at her with astonishment.

“Earth to Marinette! Where were you for the last couple of days? He started to behave this strange since Monday. Didn’t you notice? Not like you, Marinette, not like you. Are you sick or something?

Marinette didn’t notice. She was too excited in anticipation of being courted by Chat that she didn’t notice ANYTHING around her. Definitely not a good day!!! She wondered if the patrol was even worth going to. Probably not!  
____________________

“Perfect, Plagg! Patrol is finished. No akumas today and we can leave. Let’s go!”

Plagg was just happy to be patrolling again. He did missed running around, jumping, soaring above the buildings. Today was a full patrol day. They checked everything everywhere. No akumas, no Ladybug either. Chat was running towards Marinette’s house.

“Hello, Marinette? Are you there?”

She let him in the room in obviously horrible mood. 

“Hi, Chat. What brings you here?”

The cat gathered all of his actor’s skills and exclaimed with a great pain in his voice.

“A great sorrow, my Princess! I was patrolling for two days but I haven’t found my Lady. All I wanted was to go home and cry myself to sleep. I was on my way when I remembered that my dear friend Marinette is the best at healing broken hearts. So here I am. But I see that you are not in a mood yourself. What happened?”

Marinette looked at him amused and didn’t know what to think. A soft smile appeared on her face.

“So, you did patrol yesterday and today? Strange that you didn’t find Ladybug. I know for sure that she was out last night.”

Cat blinked.

“How do you know that for sure?”

“My friend Alya searches high and low for pictures of Ladybug to post on her blog. Today she told me that Ladybug was patrolling extra long time yesterday WITHOUT Chat. She had pictures from all over the Paris. Where did you patrol?”

“Everywhere, Marinette. Cross my heart, I LOOKED for her in all directions.”

Chat was extremely proud of his cleverness. The sparks in his eyes said it all but Marinette was just happy to hear that he was looking for her everywhere and missed those completely. She just regretted not going to patrol today. Chat continued.

“So what is wrong with you, princess?”

“Nothing special, just Adrien avoiding me all of the sudden and not even hiding it. He went to the bathroom twenty times today (I counted!) and his callings all happened suddenly when I was approaching! He almost choked on his lunch and had to remind our gym teacher WHO he is just to be on a different team during the game! Unbelievable!!! What did I do to him?”

Marinette was angry. No, she was furious! The tears of hurt started to fill her eyes. She didn’t see or heard how Chat came from behind and hugged her softly. Marinette froze the moment she felt his strong hands wrapping around her shoulders. The girl’s heart was trying to get out of her chest and the crimson colour completely engulfed her face. But she didn’t fight, she suddenly felt safe, secure, right where she was supposed to be. Tears started to roll down her face.

“What are you doing Chat? YOU, my friend, are supposed to look for Ladybug and you are supposed to hug HER.”

“I will find her, Marinette, but right now, I think, you need a hug more then she does. A friendly hug, just as a friend.”

He was right. She needed a friend right now, someone who could help ease the injured heart just by being there. Meanwhile a quiet nudge inside her was asking if he was her friend. Just a friend or something more? Marinette chose to ignore it. He loved Ladybug, he was on his conquest and she, she will try to forget Adrien and focus on Chat.  
____________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is crazy! I have to do my homework and I can't stop writing!


	5. Doubts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to everyone who couldn't wait for the next chapter. I was out of the country and couldn't do it. As my apologies I will post one chapter today and probably one tomorrow. Hope you enjoy them.

“So that was your plan, Adrien? To make the girl even more miserable than she already was?”

Plagg was asking the same question for the fifth time but Adrien didn’t respond, just as he didn’t answer the last four times. The boy, deep in his thoughts, was sitting on his window seat looking into the darkness for over an hour now. His little kwami could see the struggle on his face.

“Adrien, talk to me. You’ll feel better. Why did you do it? Why did you ignore her so obviously? Didn’t you know that she will be hurt.”

Suddenly a quiet voice split awkward silence. 

“I didn’t realise that she was still in love with Adrien. I hoped… that… she…Ugh! I would never want to hurt her!”

He got up and started to walk around the room in circles.

“I am such an idiot, Plagg.”

Kwami smiled with apparent satisfaction.

“Finally! I’ve been telling you this for how long? Just go to the damn girl, confess and be happy!”

Adrien though about it multiple times but every time even the thought of it made his nervous and jiggly. His confidence disappeared every time he was going to confess and Adrien began to doubt everything - her, himself, their feelings, their desires, everything! - just to avoid confessing. There was only one thing that he didn’t doubt - Adrien was in love, as deep as anyone could be. She was the perfect mix. She was brave and confident, she was radiant and talented, fun to be with and very beautiful. Adrien especially loved that he could make her blush from time to time. Deep down he knew that there was still a little love for his Ladybug but the feeling that Adrien felt for Marinette was so much bigger and he didn’t doubt that she was the one who could make him happy, whom he wanted to love for the rest of his life. There was only one question remaining.

“Who do you think will she prefer - Chat or Adrien?”

“Who do YOU think she likes more?” 

“I really wish I would know. Honestly, I would really love if she would like me for my whole self and not just one side of me. What if she prefers Chat and will be disappointed that he is me or I am him? Or what if she is interested more in Adrien and would hate the idea of him being a cat by night?”

Plagg choked on his favourite Camembert in a surprise.

“Who? Marinette? Honestly, I suspect that she is in love with both of you! So quit crying and go confess!”

Adrien looked at the kwami with hope in his eyes.

“You think so? You think she likes both sides of me?”

Plagg didn’t answer. Instead he gave Adrien the look that said it all.

“I need to fix this, Plagg. I really need to fix it. And the sooner the better.”

He remembered the last couple of hours again, how she was disappointed, how she cried, how she was hurt because of him, Adrien. Maybe she does prefer him, he thought. He walked around some more and finally went to bed hoping that a new day will give him bright, new ideas. He loved her and wanted her to be happy and if it means he had to be Adrien it was something he would certainly do.  
________________________

Thursday

A single red rose and a note on a window made all the difference. When Tikki woke up, Marinette was murmuring her favourite melody while getting ready for school. She looked happy and relaxed which greatly surprised Tikki because, if she remembered correctly, last night Marinette cried for an hour on Chat’s shoulder. He must have done something right. He was comforting her in his embrace holding her close and tight; he stroked her hair gently and wiped away her tears lovingly. At one point it looked like Chat was going to kiss the girl - he started to lean in towards her but then he paused suddenly and pulled back without her noticing anything. Tikki long suspected that the cat boy has fallen in love with Marinette and she was wondering if the girl was so oblivious not to see it or if she decided not to discuss it with the kwami. 

“You look happy, Marinette. Did something outside the window brighten your mood?”

The girl blushed instantly and pointed to the table. The rose was in her last vase and she already was struggling to explain to her parents why she suddenly needed all of the vases in the house. Luckily, her parents were extremely busy with all of the orders for the Valentine’s Day and didn’t actually check her room because the amount of flowers there would be much harder to explain.

“Hm, what have we here… You didn’t receive a note?”

Marinette blushed even harder.

“How do you know, Tikki?”

She pulled out an envelope from her pocket and showed it to Tikki.

“He always left notes before. What does it say?”

Blush deepened even more.

“Oh, nothing special. Really, Tikki, nothing special.”

The first thing that Tikki did when Marinette went to take a shower was to sneak in and steal the note in question.

“My dearest, Marinette,  
I hope that you will have a better day today. Remember that you are beautiful, kind, smart and extremely talented. Let no jerk spoil this day for you.   
Always your friend.

P.S. I’ll look in after my patrol today to check on you. XOXO”

“Yes… definitely nothing special” whispered smiling Tikki and sneaked out of the bathroom.  
____________________

Today, as should’ve been expected, their chemistry teacher decided that it was a good idea to give the class group assignments just before the Valentine’s Day. Marinette was paired with Nino and Adrien was paired with Alya. He was back to normal. Well, almost. Adrien was visibly nervous around Marinette but he didn’t avoid her anymore, so they all decided to study together. After school their small group just like many times before headed to work on their project in a nearby cafe/library. It was a very cozy and convenient place - you could study in a library and take a break in a cafe in the same building. Alla especially liked that place because they served her favourite MokaChinno with a hint of Cinnamon Rolls. In about an hour after they started to study Alya was dying to get her fix and ceremonially dragged Nino away to help her out. Marinette looked after them with a sympathetic smile.

“Geez, sometimes I feel sorry for Nino. Alya bosses him around most of the time and the poor guy has no chance of escaping.”

She shifted her look at Adrien and realised that he was observing her closely. Marinette blushed just a little. He closed his book, sat up straight and started a conversation.

“Marinette, can we talk?”

“About what, Adrien? Do you need my help with the project? I am afraid that Alya won’t be happy if I mess with her responsibilities.”

Adrien was visibly trying to calm down.

“No, not about the project. I … I just wanted… to apologise.”

The girl’s eyes grew. She has never heard Adrien stuttering.

“I was behaving myself horribly … these last couple of days. Can you …please … maybe… forgive me?”

Marinette blushed some more. That was so unusual. Adrien was alway very confident in what he did (and he was for most part behaved perfectly) and for him to admit that he has done something wrong was probably not very easy.

“Not a problem, Adrien.”

A soft smile appeared on her face to compliment the blush. She wanted to ask him what was the reason but Adrien got there first.

“I can’t explain why I did it, Marinette. Not now, at least. But I promise you that I will very soon. Friends?”

“Of course, Adrien. Friends.”

He smiled and opened his book. The first step in a right direction was done. Now he could plan his next move.  
____________________

That evening was the first day Chat and Ladybug finally met on their patrol. They jumped around the roofs looking for any possible threats but everything was quiet. Ladybug quickly noticed that Chat changed his behaviour towards her (he toned down his flirty advances) and was already preparing for a nice evening with her kitty on some roof after the patrol, just like she has advised him during their “lessons”. But after the patrol was finished Chat Noir quickly said his goodbyes and was about to leave.

“Accept my apologies, My Lady, but I have a friend who was badly hurt by her jerk of a friend whom she was unfortunate enough to have a crush on. I promised to go check on her today and maybe keep her some company. Would you mind?”

Marinette was flattered that Chat carried about her until she realised that she needed to get home ASAP so he would have someone to check on. 

“Chat! Wait!!!”

The boy turned around frozen in his tracks. He looked questingly at his Lady while she was desperately trying to find a way to buy herself some time.

“I think you should bring her something to make her feel better, like an ice-cream cone … or something else. You know, girls like ice-cream…”

She knew that she sounded awkward at the very best but Marinette had no choice - she HAD to get to her house before him. Chat grinned.

“Why, this is a good idea, my Lady. I’ll drop by the ice-cream shop and bring her some. Thank you very much.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her hand and was gone in a flash.  
____________________

“Good evening, Princess! How are you today, my dear friend?”

Chat was standing in her window with a small cup in his hands. Marinette just got home and had enough time only to release her transformation and hide Tikki. “Man, he is quick” she thought to herself.

“I am much better, kitty. What is it that smells so delicious?”

Chat grinned.

“This is a present for you from my Lady. Strawberry ice-cream. She said you’ll like it and it will make you feel better.”

“You finally met her? And you told her about me? I am flattered Chat. Tell me everything. How did it go? Did you invite her to a date?”

“Hey, wait a little! I just met her after a long time, 3 days is a long time, you know. I need some time to prepare the atmosphere.”

“And are you doing this by visiting me, Chat? You should be out there chatting with Ladybug and showing her how you’ve changed and that you are serious about her!”

Chat paused for a sec but quickly regained his confidence.

“I am showing her how changed I am by visiting you. She will see that I am a good, responsible man who cares more about his friends than his own ambitions.”

Tikki giggled hidden in Marinette’s bed. “Oh, yes Chat, you ARE putting something else above your own ambitions. Don’t you think I saw you almost kiss Marinette last night?” She wished so bad that she could fly up to his eyes and tell that him upfront, but she couldn’t. Marinette won’t like it.

Marinette thought about it for a minute.

“That’s very nice of you, Chat, but I don’t think you can help me much. Adrien has apologised and we are friends again but he won’t explain himself and I don’t think that he actually likes me the same way I like him, so I will settle for what I can have and we will focus on you and Ladybug. Ok?” 

“That’s where you wrong, Princess. I can help you. In fact, I have great news for you. I selflessly spent my whole day trying to help you, to repay you for your kindness.”

“And what did you do?”

Marinette was intrigued. What could this cat do to help her?

“I spent my entire day stalking Adrien and his friends!”

Chat was grinning from ear to ear. Marinette’s mouth opened, then closed and than opened again as she struggled for words.

“You… did…what!!!??? Chat!!!”

“Relax, Marinette! I am a cat.”

“So???”

Marinette couldn’t believe her ears. What was he thinking?!

“Cats are good at being invisible meaning cats are professional stalkers! I can follow anyone the whole day and no-one will see me.”

The first shock of his revelation started to settle in and Marinette was actually curious now what Chat has found out.

“So what did you accomplished? Did Adrien discuss how horrible and ugly I am?”

“Oh, no! Quiet the opposite! The guy is madly in love with you!”

“Really?…”

“Yes - yes! He is head over heels in love with you, princess.”

A light smirk appeared on Marinette’s lips.

“Well, than Adrien has a very strange way of showing it. I thought that being in love means that you want to spend time together, not “avoid her at all cost.”

Chat looked at the girl closely, trying to catch her reaction at what he was about to say next.

“There is a reason why he did it, Marinette. Apparently, Adrien is planning to ask you out on the Valentine’s Day and he has planned what I’ve heard “the best date ever, the date of your dreams”. From some sources I found out that he is so excited about it that he is afraid to spill the beans before the actual day so he was avoiding you to keep himself in check.”

“You don’t say, kitty cat.”

“No, really. You said he apologised but didn’t explain himself, right? That’s because he can’t tell you about the date right now, but he will soon.”

Marinette was so surprised that she didn’t think carefully about the next thing she said. 

“A date for the Valentine’s Day? Isn’t it the same day you are planning to go out with Ladybug?”

Chat blinked.

“Yes… Does it matter?”

Marinette’s face suddenly turned red from realisation of her own slip and she was trying desperately to fix the damage. 

“Oh, no! It’s even better! This way I will be sure you are NOT stalking my date either!”

He looked at her confusingly when suddenly they started to laugh together.

“I won’t! I promise.”


	6. I shouldn't have done that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As if we didn't have enough mess. Enjoy.

Friday

“I need your help, princess. I’ll drop in after my patrol.  
Your desperate friend.”

Her favourite coffee and a slice of a decadent chocolate cake plus a note.

“I can get used to it, Tikki. It’s so nice to have such a caring friend.”

“Oh yes, Marinette, he IS an extremely caring FRIEND. I wish I would have one just like him. But instead, I am stuck with Plagg, that cheese obsessed, crazy cat!”

Marinette paused.

“Who is Plagg? I didn’t know you had any friends besides me.”

“Oh, he is not a friend! He is just a mild misunderstanding of a partner. Plagg is Chat Noir’s kwammi and I, luckily, don’t see him that much, although I have to admit that I miss him sometimes. Not that I missed HIM but rather I miss being around other kwammis. But enough about me, Marinette. I think SOMEONE has a crush on you! Guess who?”

Tikki loved to tease Marinette and see her blush every time she mentioned Chat.

“Tikki, stop it! He considers me a friend, he loves Ladybug and he WILL ask her out on the Valentine’s Day.”

“Are you sure?”

A pillow flew in her direction but Tikki skilfully avoided it as always, giggling.

“I’ll stop if you share with me your FRIEND’S present. It looks rather delicious.”

Marinette were more than happy to share if that meant Tikki will stop talking and let her go back to her own thoughts. They went to his note - what kind of help did he need? Was he in danger? Why did he ask her and not the Ladybug who could certainly help him more than Marinette? She didn’t have any answers and any idea what was going on and for now the only thing she could do is to wait until the evening.  
____________________

Friday was as regular as can be in a life of a teen with a secret identity. School, projects, friends, a few giggles and some delicious food. Closer to the evening Marinette went on a routine patrol and met Chat there. They spent about an hour patrolling and she was amazed at how little personal affection she received from him.That evening Chat was not even the same, old Chat he always was. He was serious and seemed to think about something all the time. He was distracted and absentminded with her. Marinette was disappointed a little and thought that if she wouldn’t be in love with him already, Chat wouldn’t had a chance to capture her heart with this behaviour. 

“Something must be really bothering him” - she thought. “I better get home soon and wait there.”

When the patrol was almost finished Ladybug told Chat that she really needed to get home because there was some kind of emergency and she couldn’t finish their patrol.

“Do you mind checking the last couple of blocks by yourself, kitty?”

“Not at all, my Lady. Go ahead. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
____________________

Soon Marinette was standing at the window, waiting anxiously for Chat Noir. She saw him approaching and sighed quietly. What was he going to ask? Will she be able to help him? She was restless and worried, she couldn’t even stand the thought of him being in trouble. 

“Ugh! What did I get myself into, Tikki? I should’ve just told him a long time ago and avoid all of this mess.”

“Well you did want it to be romantic, didn’t you? Valentine’s Day date and the big reveal. It’s just around the corner, Marinette. Tomorrow you can tell him everything and be finally happy for once.”

“I hope so, Tikki. Now, hide, he’s almost here.”  
____________________

He saw her standing at her window looking at him, worry evident on her face. 

“Gosh, I did it again” - he thought to himself. “I should have explained why I am coming. My sweet, little girl looks a bit more concerned that she should’ve been. When will I learn? Plagg it’s all YOUR fault! It’s your bad luck haunting me.”

“As if!” - he heard a quiet whisper in his ear.

“Hello, my princess! Don’t worry so much, your prince is here!”

Chat bowed down as soon as he reached her balcony. Marinette smiled softly and pulled him sharply inside her room surprising him a great deal. He almost lost his balance and after regaining stability found himself standing dangerously close to the girl still holding her hands, their chests touching. Her breath, her heartbeat and the blueness of her eyes made him speechless and frozen for a minute. That was the reason he came here. If he were honest with her, he would have said that he didn’t need any help, he was doing just fine, but he came because he wanted to see her, to hear her voice, to gaze into her blue-blue eyes. That moment was worth to him all the lies and tricks. All he needed is to be close to Marinette. They stood there millimetres apart looking into each others eyes, enjoying the moment, having a quiet conversation.

“Silly kitty, it’s still bright enough for someone to spot you. You should be more careful. You had me worried sick with that note of yours. What happened?”

“I’m really sorry.”

He was barely breathing and still staring at her, forgetting to respond to her question. Marinette giggled and moved away.

“What is the emergency, Chat? I see you are alright, so what is that you need my help with?”

Chat snapped out of his trance and grinned widely.

“I need your help with my date planning, princess! I planned almost everything so I want you to go over it and give me your honest opinion since your are the expert in those things.”

Marinette didn’t know what to do - she was flattered and amused, she wanted to laugh and tell him that she can’t plan her own date, it had to be a surprise, but she, of course, couldn’t do that. She gathered all of her strength to look serious. 

“I thought that you were a born date planner. How hard could it be? Haven’t you ever gone on a date? I’m sure you also have male friends who would more than willing to help out.”

Chat sighed.

“It’s not that easy. First, this is going to be my first date.”

She laughed.

“No way! I don’t believe you! Great Chat never had a date before?”

“Not funny! Yes, I’ve never gone on a date before, I was saving this honour for a really special girl. Now, if you could stop laughing and let me continue? Regular date schedule from my one and only male friend might not work because I can’t just take her anywhere I want, you know, counting in our secret identities, so I need some place private but beautiful. And he would not let me get away without naming the girl I want to invite on a date and I can’t tell him that. So I do need your help because I want everything to be perfect and you, as a girl can point out to me my mistakes. Wasn’t it your idea to help me win Ladybug’s heart? Take me to the end, princess! I am trying hard, you know”

“I KNOW how HARD you are trying” - she thought. “If not for my plan, she would have never fallen for you, kitty”

But out loud Marinette couldn’t say that so she had to play along. However, she did make a note to herself to tease him about it later.

“Ok, let me see what I can do. I’ll grab some drinks from downstairs for us but you’d better behave yourself while I’m gone.”

“Don’t worry, princess. I’ll take a short cat nap.”

“Oh, his puns, I kind of missed them!” - thought Marinette letting out a small smile and went downstairs to pick up something to eat since she forgot to have her dinner worrying for that silly cat. 

“I should’ve known it wasn’t serious. He is never serious.”

When she came back Chat was stretched on her bed and it looked like he really was napping. Marinette came closer and looked at him. He was a stunner, his blond hair all wild, a soft confident smile and a muscular, fit frame of his body - how could she not fallen for him before. Probably, she was too occupied with Adrien, she thought, and didn’t see what was right in front of her eyes. But she saw it now, loud and clear. Marinette leaned closer and brushed his golden locks away from his face just barely touching his cheek. So soft, so perfect.

“Chat, wake up. We need to work on that date of yours.”

The cat boy yawned and opened his eyes; he smiled at her gently which made him look even more handsome and murmured.

“Sorry, princess, but your bed is very comfy. I couldn’t resist.”

They shared her dinner which he said was one of the best meals of his lifetime and started to work on his date. Chat told Marinette where he wanted to take Ladybug, what food he would bring, what he was going to say, how he would invite her to a dance and then kiss her for the first time ever.

“Don’t tell me it is going to be your first kiss too? Didn’t you already kissed last year on the Valentine’s Day?”

“We did, but I don’t remember it, for one. And Ladybug told me that it was only to break the spell, so, I guess, it doesn’t count.”

“You, know, I would have never suspected that you are so innocent Chat. Never kissed with all those fangirls running around Paris only to catch a glimpse of you?”

“Have you been kissed, my princess?”

Marinette blushed and tried to hide her eyes.

“See! And you are chastening me? We are equally innocently horrible at this stuff! Maybe Adrien will also kiss you at your date? Should we make our first kisses on a same day?”

Marinette blushed even harder. The reminder of Adrien sent her thought into a crazy spin. “Oh, shoot! I completely forgot about Adrien. How do I handle two dates at the same time? Ugh, I’ll deal with it later as soon as I’ll finish with this one. Note to myself - never let him make you so worried that you are forgetting about everything starting with food ending with a date!”

“We won’t discuss it now, Chat! Let’s continue. Do you have a music list for your dance?”

“I didn’t come around that bit yet. Can you suggest me something that girls like? I am afraid I don’t have a lot of modern, musical knowledge. I am more of a classical guy.” 

“You never seize to amaze me, kitty. How did that happened?”

“Well, I was forced to listen to it since my birth and somehow I came around to actually enjoy it.”

As a result, they spend the next thirty minutes putting together a perfect list of songs for Chat’s date. Marinette choose all her favourite ones. “If I am forced to plan my own date, I’d better make sure it is perfect” - she thought. 

“Do you know how to dance, Chat?”

“Yes, I do and I am quiet good at it, so I’ve been told. You?”

Marinette regretted asking but it was too late.

“No, not really. I had a couple of lessons in school but I flanked them all. The teacher said that I have a grace of a hippopotamus and a posture of a monkey.”

She thought he would laugh at her but he didn’t. He stood up quickly and stretched out his hand to her.

“That won’t do, Marinette. What if Adrien will ask you to dance? Come, I’ll teach you.”

“But I’ve been already taught and it didn’t went well. There is no point. If Adrien asks, I’ll just tell him the truth.”

“Or I can teach you, Marinette. That teacher was an idiot, I am sure. I don’t call you a princess for no reason. You can do it, I know you can. Come.”

She hesitancy took his hand and stood up.

“Ok, but if it goes bad promise me that you’ll give up and I am sorry in advance.”

“For what?”

“For all the pain that you are going to experience from me stepping on your feet.” 

Chat looked at her softly.

“Marinette, you’ll be fine. You can dance and you will dance as gracefully and as beautifully as everyone else. Trust me.”

“Do we have enough space here? It’s not a big room, maybe we can forget about it - there is not enough space.”

Marinette was nervous. She didn’t joke when she told him about the teacher. Not a single boy wanted to be her partner after the first three were damaged enough for them to be sent to a nurse. The teacher decided to risk it himself and it all ended very badly. She never came back to that class.

“There is enough space for teach you the basics, Marinette. Don’t try to weasel out. You’ll be fine.”

Chat went over to her computer and turned on one of the songs that they chose just minutes ago for his date with Ladybug. The girl nodded lightly as Chat hugged her back with one hand and took her opposite arm in his other hand. He pulled her closer to him.

“Don’t be nervous, just follow my lead.”

They started to waltz around the room - Chat perfect in his posture and skills, Marinette nervous and jumpy. She kept looking at her feet and fall out of rhythm. His feet got stepped on probably ten times during a five minute song and every time Marinette blushed and apologised. When the song finished Chat let her go and went back to the computer.

“I’m really sorry, Chat. I told you I can’t do it. Did I hurt you badly? Can you walk?”

He giggled.

“Don’t worry about me, princess. My costume protects me from any kind of harm, including your steps.”

He put the next song on, the best one ever in Marinette's opinion, and walked back to her. Chat pulled her close again in a waltz position and looked her into the eyes.

“Do you trust me, Marinette?”

She was surprised with his question and had to regain her speech before answering quietly, almost whispering.

“With my life, Chat.”

“Then let go. Do not look at your feet and relax. Look into my eyes and follow me.”

And so she did. She gazed into his gorgeous green eyes and felt losing herself in them. She saw gentleness and passion, love and mischief in them. She was drowning and she didn’t want it to end. None of them realised that the song has ended a while ego and they continued to waltz around the room as Chat was whispering to her.

“You are doing great, princess. See, I told you can do it. You can because you are amazing, beautiful, talented, kind, passionate….”

He continued to praised her but he stopped hearing his own words a long time ago. All he was thinking about was her beautiful, blue eyes, her silky, raven hair, her slick jawline and those gorgeous, soft lips… They beckoned him, they called to him, they invited him… She was so close… He could hear her heartbeat, he could taste her breath, he could touch her body, he could kiss her…

The room suddenly started spinning and the time stand still. Marinette felt an electric heat spreading fast through her body as his lips pressed against hers. His hands didn’t hold her anymore but gently capped her face in them. She became dizzy and felt her knees starting to betray her. The girl’s eyes, which were open wide in a surprise at first, started to close down with pleasure as she responded back. She hugged him with her arms and pulled him closer to her to the point where there were no more available space between them. He was devouring her, his lips so soft and passionate and she was wishing for it to never end.

Suddenly, he pulled back a little, still leaning to her, their foreheads touching, still in each other arms. Out of breath, both of them, exhausted but feeling amazing. She looked at him, his eyes closed as he whispered.

“I am sorry, Marinette. I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. Forgive me.” 

Before Marinette could reply he was gone. Jumped out of the window and sprinted away into the darkness. Marinette was still standing there, gazing after him, her hand at her lips, still feeling his warmth, his touch, their kiss, their first kiss.

“And how do you think he will ask Ladybug for a date tomorrow if he was kissing you today?”

Tikki came out of her hiding spot and waited for about five minutes before deciding to bring Marinette out of her thoughts.

“I love him. I love him, Tikki. I don’t care anymore! I am telling him everything the next time I see him and will hope that he feels the same.”

“Oh, Marinette! Finally! I told you a lot of times before that he has a crush on you but SOMEBODY was insisting that he considers you just a friend! Friends DON’T kiss! Let’s go to sleep and rest before your heart will burst of happiness.”

Marinette fell asleep immediately and she dreamed about Chat asking Ladybug out and her revealing to him her true identity. She couldn’t wait. Yes, when he asks Ladybug out, she will have the biggest surprise for him.   
____________________

Adrien was lying in his bed starring in the ceiling.

“Nice moves, your naughty kitty! I would’ve never suspected what you were planning.”

Plagg was gobbling on his cheese and trying to grin at the same time which didn’t looked very attractive to Adrien but he didn’t look at him anyway.

“I screwed up my own plan, Plagg! How is she going to go on a date with Adrien tomorrow if Chat Noir kissed her today?”

“Why did you kissed her then?”

“I don’t know. It just happened. I guess I couldn’t resist her any longer …” 

“Why don’t you try your luck tomorrow and see. Maybe she didn’t like your kiss and would be more than happy to go out with Adrien.”

“But what if she won’t?”

“We are talking about Adrien Agreste, didn’t you forget? Half of the Parisian girls have a crush on him and would kill for a date. I don’t think she will refuse, but even if she will you can always try your luck as Chat.”

“Adrien Agreste… Ugh, Plagg! I thought that you were past this glam boy stuff. I don’t want her to go out with me only because I am famous. I want her to actually like me for me. Makes me wish she would choose Chat over him.”

“Be careful what you wish for, lover boy! Now go to bed or you will oversleep your own date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next comes the date! Get ready!


	7. The Date - part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really sorry, guys...

Saturday - the Valentine’s Day

She didn’t expect anything outside her window today, but there it was - a white envelope with “Sorry” written on it. Marinette hold it in her hands not knowing if she wanted to open it or not. 

“I think you should. If he has something to say, shouldn’t you be able to listen?”

“You are right, Tikki. Let see.”

“Marinette,  
I don’t have enough words to express my apologies for my behavior yesterday. I overstepped all of the boundaries and I will completely understand if you won’t want to see me again. I promise not to bother you with my Ladybug’s issues anymore and I want to wish you to have a wonderful time with Adrien today. He really loves you and, I believe, that he is the one that can make you happy. And that is what I want for you - to be happy.   
Goodbye,  
C. N.”

Marinette put the note back in the envelope and turned to Tikki with saddest expression the kwammi had ever saw on her face.

“He wants me to go out with Adrien and I know that Chat is expecting Ladybug to go out with him today. How did I get in this mess, Tikki? I really don’t want to hurt either Adrien or Chat but I am not sure if I can handle two dates at the same time. Tikki what do I do?” 

Tikki slowly floated to Marinette’s eye level and said with wisdom only a 5000-year-old kwammi could have.

“Marinette, only you can answer this question. Do what your heart tells you to do, what feels right, even if it is sometimes hard and even if someone will to be hurt in a process. Find the answer in your heart, Marinette. First of all be honest to yourself because truth is always the best choice. Remember when Adrien rejected you? Would you ever have found a place for Chat in your heart if that haven’t happened? Sometimes, we need to let something go in order to move on and hopefully find something or someone better. But what or who in this case to let go I can’t tell you. You are the one who must decide. Only know that whatever you do I’ll support your decision.”

Tikki smiled softly at the girl who tried to keep her tears in check and miserably was failing.

“I love you, Tikki! I hope you know that.”

“I know, Marinette. I love you too.”

She hugged and cuddled a small creature in her palms when suddenly she heard her father’s voice from downstairs.

“Marinette! Can you come here, please?”

The girl jumped on the spot from a surprise. The father sounded urgent and a little angry. She couldn’t imagine what was so important. Her parents were extremely busy today and shouldn’t have any free time to deal with Marinette, unless they wanted her help. 

“That’s it - she thought, they must be needing me to help out.” 

However, when she stepped into a living room, Marinette realized that that wasn’t the reason she was called downstairs. Her parents were standing besides a delivery guy who was holding a huge flower arrangement. It was magnificent! White, three shades of pink and red roses - all arranged into a beautiful and tasteful piece that took her breath away. She almost couldn’t see the man who was holding flowers and the smell in the living room was terrific!

“Marinette, this nice, young men told us that these flowers are for you. Do you know anything about it? We didn’t know you have a boyfriend. Please, explain.”

Dad was a little bit (or a lot) concerned from what Marinette could understand. It was not a fact that she couldn’t have a boyfriend; it was rather a fact that she was supposed to let her parents know that she has one. Marinette smiled nervously.

“That’s because I don’t have one, Dad. It must be a mistake, sir. I am not expecting any flowers today.”

The men frowned and stretched out his hand revealing a small white envelope with golden writing on it.

“I am telling you - it’s for you! Here, read it! The young man specifically told me to deliver it to your bakery. He even showed me your picture so I won’t mix up anything.”

The envelope had “Marinette” written on it. She looked at her parents - dad was standing with his arms crossed at his chest, frowning, while her mom could hardly hide her excitement. It seemed that she would break up in squeals and jump around any second. Marinette opened the letter and read it out loud.  
   
“Dear Marinette,  
I know that roses are red,  
Your gorgeous eyes are blue,  
But on this special day   
I want to say that   
I love you! 

Your secret admirer.”

Dad frowned some more and mom produced a sound that remotely resembled a squeal that Marinette made when Adrien put his hand on her shoulder in a locker room some time ago. 

“Well, if it is just an admirer, I suppose it is fine. Put the flowers on a table, young man. I have to get back to the store. And Marinette, I hope you will tell us when this admirer of yours will become your boyfriend?”

“I will, Dad! Promise.”

The arrangement was pretty heavy and the guy needed some time to place it on a table carefully. When he finally did Marinette’s parents were already gone and she used this luck to her advantage.

“Sir, you said you spoke with the boy who ordered it for me? How did he look?”

The guy smirked at her. 

“Trying to figure out who it is? Well, he didn’t tell me to keep it a secret so I guess I can tell you. He was a little taller than you, slim and fit, blond hair and green eyes. That’s all I can remember. See you!”

He was gone too. Marinette was trying feverishly to figure out who it was - Chat or Adrien. She knew that Adrien planned a date for her, but deep inside she hoped that it was Chat, because the kiss, yesterday’s kiss, wasn’t just a momentum, she knew it, she could feel it. It didn’t come from someone who doesn’t care and deep, deep inside she was hoping that Chat would choose her over Ladybug. 

Fifteen minutes later Marinette quit guessing.

“Tikki, I didn’t realize that they both have blond hair and green eyes. I mean, I knew but I’ve never paid any special attention to it.”

“Check the note again, Marinette. Maybe there is a signature somewhere.”

She took the note out again, looked on a reversed side and gasped.

“Oh my, Tikki! There is a message.”

“Dear Marinette, I want to invite you to spend this special day with me. If you want to find out who I am and would like my idea, please, come to the fountain at the park at noon. If you come, I promise, you will not regret, I’ll make sure that you have the best day of your life.”

She looked at the note for some time, thinking about something.

“Should I go, Tikki?”

“Do you want to go, Marinette?”

“Honestly, I am very curious who this admirer is. It might be Adrien but it might be Chat or someone completely different. If I could only look and see who it is and then decide…”

“You can do this. Go there earlier and hide nearby. Then you could see who it is and decide what to do.”

“Right! That’s exactly what I will do.”

Marinette waited until it was about 11:40 and discreetly sneaked out of the house into the nearby park. She hid behind a tree and was picking out from time to time. Soon it was 11: 55 but no one who she knew was visibly awaiting her. She was scanning the perimeter again when suddenly a voice startled her sending her in a high jump with some pretty terrified sound effects.

“Who are we spying on, Marinette?” 

The girl turned around sharply only to see Adrien grinning at her with his supermodel smile.

“A-Adrien! H-h-hi! No one, I am totally not spying on someone. Just taking a stroll. What are you doing here?” 

“I am meeting a girl for a date. I sent her an invitation today, but I wasn’t sure if she would come. I was wrong though because you came.”

The smile never left his face during their short conversation but now he was beaming, bursting from happiness. Marinette suddenly realized that he was waiting for her and seeing his joy she was starting to hate herself already for what she was about to do. Marinette did thought about her dilemma for a long time before coming here and finally decided that she could not do it neither to herself, nor to Adrien. It was just not fair to him – to go on a date while being not wholly present, while wishing to be somewhere else, while longing for a certain cat boy to kiss her again.

“Um, Adrien. I-I I am very sorry. P-Please, d-don’t hate m-me because I a-already do, but-but I can’t go on a date with you”

Marinette bowed her head because she couldn’t handle to see the pain on his face. She still loved him too much for that. They were standing like that in silence for a couple of minutes until Adrien reached down and took her hands in his. She lifted her eyes and saw, to her surprise and a bit of relieve, that he wasn’t hurt. He looked sad, but not hurt. Adrien smiled at her lightly.

“I could never hate you, Marinette. May I ask why you can’t go?”

She didn’t want to say it but from a little experience that she had, Marinette knew that while honesty hurts it is still better to say the truth than to let him find out on his own later. However, she couldn’t pronounce the words; she just kept looking into his green, gorgeous eyes, trying to fight her tears and biting her lips. Adrien continued, realizing that she is not in a state to talk.

“Is there someone else?”

Marinette nodded and bowed her head again. His hand gently took her chin and lifted it making her once again to gaze into his eyes.

“Do you love him?”

She nodded blushing lightly and really wished that he would let her go so she could hide her eyes. Adrien studied her face for a minute, smiled softly and asked again.

“Did he at least invite you on a date yet?”

Marinette shook her head and blushed excessively seeing his eyes widen with amusement.

“Please, Adrien! Let me go. Believe me, it is the hardest thing I had ever had to do, but I can’t to be with you on this date while thinking about what he is doing or whom he is waiting for. It’s just not fair to you. Please, Adrien…”

“Just one last question, Marinette. Does he love you more than I do?”

That question was a sword in Marinette’s heart. He loved her! He told her that he actually loved her! But she… It was already too late for her. Her heart was gone. Adrien still held a part of it but not the biggest one, nor the one that made her decision. Marinette decided that probably it was time to be honest not only with him, but with herself too.

“To be honest, I am not sure, Adrien. I always thought that he considered me just a friend, I even tried to help him with his love problems and somehow I fell in love with that dork. Does he love me?… If you had asked me a couple of days ago, I would say “probably no”, but now… after yesterday… I am not sure anymore.”

His eyes acquired a questioning look and a slight satisfaction. His hand moved from holding Marinette’s chin to stroking her cheek as he lovingly looked at her.

“So you are refusing a date with me for a guy who didn’t invite you for his own date and of whose feelings you are not even sure? You don’t even know if he loves you? Something important must have happened yesterday for you to decide this. What happened yesterday, Marinette?”

Before she could even think about replying they heard loud noises and screams coming from a nearby restaurant. People were rushing outside, hiding behind the trees, cars, anything they could find from laser rays coming from inside. Another akuma! That was to be expected - after all it was Valentine’s Day and lots of negative emotions were pretty much guaranteed. This time it was a woman who was turned into a robot and was shooting others with her laser rays. She was shouting something about feelings that hurt and ruin our lives and therefore you are better off without them. People who were shot were turning into robots themselves, unable to feel neither hate and pain nor love and joy. Marinette looked at Adrien and before he could say something whispered.

“I am really sorry, Adrien. Sorry for everything but right now we need to run.”

He nodded and they ran off into opposite directions. Very soon Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared on the scene. The enemy was a tough one but nothing that the duo couldn’t manage. Apparently her fiancée dumped her on the Valentine’s Day for a younger woman just a month before their wedding. Ladybug couldn’t even start to imagine how awful that must have felt. She sympathized with the akuma but she had to fight her anyway. Chat, on the other hand, seemed to be in an excellent mood. He was murmuring songs and grinning all the way through the fight, looking the happiest she saw him an months. Ladybug concluded that it was because he was going to finally ask her out and the thought gave her more power and determination to finish the battle quickly. One lucky charm and one cataclysm later the woman was free and the Paris was back to normal. Heroes exchanged their customary fist bump on a roof of the restaurant where this all happened and Chat did something that Ladybug had not seen coming.

“On this special day I will fulfill one of your greatest desires, my Lady. You always told me how annoying and dorky I am and how you wish I wouldn’t bother you with my flirt and my horrible puns so I decided to give you a gift of freedom for one day.”

Chat stood up upright, lay his leather clad hand on his chest and proclaimed:

“I hereby promise not to bother my Ladybug on this special day of Valentine’s. May her desires be fulfilled! I promise not to disturb whatever date she has today and to not duel the man who captured my Lady’s heart. May her happy day be indeed happy! In fact, I have a date today with an amazing girl myself, so I’d better run off and prepare. See you tomorrow, my Lady. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

And he was gone. Marinette stood there in utter shock with her jaw lowered and her eyes opened wide. For once she wished that she hadn’t defeated the robot akuma – she would rather be happy right now as one of her robots. As far as everything, she felt that she was one of her robots already. Her heart was numb and her body refused to listen. Her world went suddenly dark and she couldn’t hear any noise around her anymore. Was she dreaming? Or maybe it was not her? Maybe she was just observing it from the outside? She couldn’t tell. Marinette stood there unmoved until she heard a beep, almost the last one. She turned around and ran, ran as far as she could. No direction, just farther, farther away from everyone. She wanted to hide, she wanted to wake up, she wanted to forget everything. Marinette stopped only when there were no more roofs before her. She hid between the chimneys and finally let her tears flow. She cried her heart out, she cried until she didn’t have anything else, until she felt numb again from the pain that consumed her so much that it felt as a normal state of being, a state where love and happiness didn’t exist anymore.


	8. The Date - part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What happened?! You!!! You happened! Liar! You used me! You lied and used me! I hate you, Chat! Can you hear me? I HATE YOU!!!

“Plagg, can you eat any slower? I really need to get going. Do you think everything will get done by itself?”

Adrien was anxiously looking at his kwammi. He had used his cataclysm during an akuma attack so he had to refuel Plagg with this horribly smelling cheese that he adored so much and did he REALLY took his time, chewing and smelling and smacking it, all while grinning at Adrien.

“You lied to her”

“I did not! Well, almost not… lied…To have a date and almost certainly will have is the same thing! Get going, Plagg.”

“Neh, you lied! You didn’t even invite her yet. Why do you think she will accept you if she refused Adrien Agreste?”

Adrien took a moment to really take in the absurdity of this conversation – he was Adrien Agreste as much as Chat Noir and right now he was about to prove to a tiny, floating, cat-like, cheese-obsessed creature that Marinette declined a date with him because she fell in love with him. Adrien leaned on his desk and put his head in his hands, smiling like a love-struck dork he was to himself.

“She loves me, Plagg. She told me, I mean Adrien, that she loves me. She will certainly accept. Now let’s go or I won’t have any date to invite her to. I have to move everything to a new location.”  
____________________

Marinette lay on her back, still on the rooftop, gazing into the sky. Her tears were long gone but not because she was feeling better or the pain didn’t bother her anymore. No, it wasn’t the reason. She just didn’t have any more tears in her; she cried them all out. Her heart was tired, was shuttered into a million pieces. It wasn’t her first heartbreak but it was the worst of the two. At least when she first confessed to Adrien, she didn’t expect him to love her back. With Chat it was different - she knew that he loved her, loved Ladybug. He told it to her many times; he cried when she broke his heart, they plotted for a week for him to win back Ladybug’s heart. What went wrong? Was he that cruel? She should’ve never trusted a stupid flirt like him. She should’ve known that he was a heartbreaker. Her head was spinning from all the thoughts, most of her emotions went missing, went numb from the paralyzing pain inside of her. She just looked into the sky, observing birds, wishing that she could fly away with them and forget, forget everything. 

Tikki was quietly sitting by Marinette’s side and observed her all this time and wished she could comfort the girl somehow but nothing would come up. She was afraid to speak, was afraid to make it worst, until she decided that it could not probably be worse then it already was.

“Marinette, listen. Maybe, just maybe, he didn’t invite Ladybug because he wanted to invite you, as Marinette I mean? Just think about it. All those flowers, gifts and notes. The names he called you. He kissed you! You told me that you felt that it was…”

“Oh, Tikki… Please, don’t. He didn’t want to invite me. Don’t you remember that he plainly told me to go on a date with Adrien? He lied, he used me, he hurt me and I hate him right now! I really-really hate him!!!”

“Marinette…”

“Tikki, please. I know you want to help but … just let me be for now…”

Tikki sighted heavily. What else can she do for her beloved girl? She was hurting and it felt as if there was no one who could help her. She certainly was not the one who she needed right now.

Time passed, slowly and agonizingly. Sun was starting to lean over to the horizon indicating that the day soon will be over. The streets were getting quieter and emptier. “Time will heal – thought Tikki, - I can’t help you, but time will…”

Suddenly, the red kwammi heard footsteps and quickly hid in Marinette’s purse who, it seemed, didn’t even bother or probably didn’t care to notice someone approaching. Before she even could inform the girl of an intruder, a black leather-clad figure jumped on the roof, run towards Marinette and abruptly sat right besides her.

“Wow, Marinette! That is some place you found here! I spend almost three hours trying to find you, not counting a half an hour I spend waiting near your house. Why did you….”

Chat caught the sight of Marinette’s face and stopped in his tracks. She was visibly disturbed, angry, her eyes were swollen from crying and her lips were in a tight, slim line, like she was trying really hard to keep herself from speaking. He couldn’t believe his eyes – his Marinette, always so happy and energetic became almost unrecognizable, still lovely and beautiful but the expressions were completely alienated, something that he never saw before.

“Marinette…”

She didn’t look at him and not a single muscle moved as she said with her teeth clenched.

“Leave. Me. Alone.”

The boy was taken aback a little. What was going on? What happened? Who or what could possibly make his lovely princess so upset. Adrien had to found out so he can go over to that person and give him a piece of his mind or better yet let him test his fight skills in a duel. He will avenge his princess! He will defend her! Nobody can hurt her and walk the face of Earth unpunished!

“Marinette, what happen? Who upset you so much? Tell me, my princess, who and what happened to you?”

“I said – LEAVE ME ALONE, CHAT!”

“Marinette…?”

That was all she could take. Anger started to boil inside of her again with renewed strength. Before he came she thought that it couldn’t hurt her any more but, boy, was she wrong. That lying, selfish, ignorant cat was torturing her again, as if he didn’t have enough. Her heart was already broken into million pieces but now every single one of them started to ache with agonizing pain. How dared he to hurt her like this and now come here and act as if nothing has happened? She jumped to her feet and faced him with anger he never thought of ever seeing on her beautiful face.

“What happened?! You!!! You happened! Liar! You used me! You lied and used me! I hate you, Chat! Can you hear me? I HATE YOU!!!

The tears flooded her face again. Marinette started shaking from all the overwhelming feelings that rushed from her poor, wounded heart. She hated him and loved him at the same time. She wanted to smack him, to let him feel the pain for once and she longed for him to embrace her and kiss her, kiss her again and again. The girl didn’t know how to handle all of that; she was not prepared for it. Her head dropped as she hid her face in the palms of her hands and started to sob uncontrollably again.

“Why Chat? What did I do to you to deserve it?”

Chat was looking at her with shock on his face. His heart stopped. No, no, no! It couldn’t be him. He would never hurt Marinette! He LOVED her! But she looked so miserable so assured in her anger. She hated him? No, she couldn’t, he refused to believe it. She couldn’t! She told Adrien just this morning that she loved him. What did he do this time? He had to found out, he had to stop her from crying, he had to make her smile again. He stood up and moved closer to her. 

“What did I do Marinette? Tell me, princess… Marinette, please…”

She looked at him with her tired eyes.

“Don’t you dare to call me princess again, Chat! I never want to hear it again from you! What did you do? As if you don’t know! You lied, Chat. You lied all this time. You told me that you would invite Ladybug on a date but you didn’t. You used me! Everything I told you - you used to get some other girl. You kissed me! You kissed me and let me believe that maybe, just maybe you felt something for me but then you sent me off to Adrien as an unwanted trash. I should’ve never trusted you. I should’ve known that a flirt like you would…”

She couldn’t finish - the spasms in her throat didn’t let her. The tears rolled again and she felt that there was nothing that could stop the pain, the hurt in her heart. Chat stood there dumb-folded, looking at her, trying to understand everything that she just said. He didn’t care how she knew about Ladybug fiasco and he was sure he didn’t pursued any other girl recently but the kiss… The kiss was genuine. Unwanted trash??? What was she talking about…? Was she that upset that he didn’t invite Ladybug? 

“It’s now or never” – Chat thought to himself. “It’s time to be honest. It’s time to show her, to tell her everything and time to make her see and listen.”

Adrien came even closer. He stood right in front of her now, so close he could feel the vibration of her trembling and feel the warmth of her breath. He was nervous, as he never was before in his life. He took her hands down from her face and started to gently wipe away her tears. She lifted her head up and looked into his concerned, scared but still gorgeous eyes. Oh, how she wanted to just run away from him, to hide herself and never come back but for some reason she couldn’t. Those eyes wouldn’t let her – they mesmerized her, paralyzed every muscle in her body, bonded her with an invisible thread. She loved that idiot so much it pained her even more that all the heartbreak that she went through today. “How is it even possible? – she thought to herself, - how is it possible to still love him after all of this?” Chat was looking at her thoughtfully stroking her cheek. He took her hands into his and whispered.

“I AM really sorry, Marinette for all the pain I caused you. I want you to know that nothing what I did was with intention to hurt you and some things you named never even happened at all. I would never hurt you on purpose, Marinette. I maybe lied a little but I would never even think about using you. I did kiss you and I was sincere in it. And I had a very good reason to not invite Ladybug on a date today. Do you want me to tell you why?”

Adrien took her into his arms; pulling her closer, making her shivers and shaking go away. She didn’t draw back. He was holding her tight but gently and Marinette felt that familiar comfort, safety and warmth that she was craving right now after all the suffering. She just wanted to feel loved again and, if it meant to let him hug her, she would let him do it. 

“Why, Chat? Why you didn’t invite her?”

Adrien leaned to her ear and whispered:

“I’ll tell you if you answer my question.”

He kissed her jawline softly and Marinette froze feeling the burn that the kiss left. He kissed her again and again, moving lower on her neck, placing burning, slow kisses down her neck and on her shoulder. Marinette stood half awake, intoxicated from his kisses. Her head was spinning. She closed her eyes. She wanted him to stop and she would beg him to continue the second he would obey her. From time to time she could hear his whisper between the touches.

“Do you want to know, Marinette?”

“Yes, - she whispered, - ask your question. I want to know.”

He lifted his head a little, looked straight into those gorgeous, blue eyes and said quietly.

“A little birdie told me you didn’t go on a date with Adrien. In fact, I was told that you declined his invitation personally.”

He was back at her jawline, back to kissing her, sending her into another spell of dizziness and half-awaken state. Her skin was burning, every muscle in her body was tense except the knees that kept on giving up on her, making her remain in a standing position only because Cat was holding her. She was drowning; she could barely hear him whisper into her ear:

“Why, Marinette? Why didn’t you go with him?”

Kisses, again and again, burning, excited, passionate, soft, everywhere but her lips. He teased her; he was playing his game again. Her lips, they were aching for him to kiss them, they were silently begging him for at least a touch but he was refusing every time he got near them. He would kiss their corners and he would go back to her cheeks, her neck, everywhere, but the lips.

“Why, Marinette? Why?”

He continued to ask her between his kisses. He reached her lips once more; he hovered over them, brushing them with his own, soft, desirable, and he kissed the other corner. Marinette couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted that kiss; she wanted for him to claim her with that kiss, she wanted to let him finally know.

“Because I love YOU, stupid cat! I didn’t go, because I love you…”

He pulled back his head and looked her straight into the eyes. His own, amazingly green were already screaming his next words; they were betraying him and were letting her know what she is about to hear. He brushed away some of the loose hair strings from her deeply blushing face and whispered back:

“I love you too, Marinette.”

Her lips finally were satisfied. Passion, desire, longing – this kiss was everything. Chat pressed her body to him, leaving no room in between. Her hands were on his neck, playing with his hair, pushing him even closer. The heat, the electricity… With every move of his lips she was plunged into an ocean of burning emotions, of electrifying ecstasy. Marinette was once again lost in him, completely lost…

He pulled back a little after a while, gasping for air, looking at her, whispering softly.

“I could kiss you all day, princess, but unfortunately, I have to go…”

Marinette didn’t expect that. She pulled back in an awkward surprise.

“Where?”

“I have a date to get to. Didn’t you know that I have a date today? I went out of my way preparing for this date and I want my girl to be able to see what I did for her while there is still some light in the sky.”

Marinette heard her heart crack again, as a new wave of pain shot through it. Tears once more started to gather in corners of her eyes. Why did she trust him again? There is nobody she could blame right now but herself. “I should’ve known better…” - she though but she didn’t have strength to argue again and was there even a point? He just told her he loved her and now he is going on a date with someone else…? She really should’ve known better than to believe him again.

“Go, Chat… Go, and, please, don’t come back. I don’t want to see you again.”

Marinette turned her back to him and hugged herself tightly. She never felt this cold. 

The pain in her face stroked him right into the heart. “No, no, no! Don’t cry! Damn! My love of play has done it again! When will I learn…?” The smile vanished from his lips.

“I can’t go yet, Marinette. I didn’t invite the girl yet.”

Chat went around to face her again. He took her hand in his own once again and got on one knee, gazing into her teary eyes.

“Will you do me the honor and be my Valentine today?”

Marinette gasped. She snatched her hand back and covered her mouth in a shock.

“Me? You want me? But I thought… but I am… Why would you want me when you could have Ladybug?”

Chad stood up and cupped her face with his hands looking straight into her eyes.

“Marinette, I love YOU. I don’t care what you think about yourself or what others are thinking about you and you shouldn’t either. I care only that I love you. WHY WOULD I want to invite anyone else, including Ladybug, when I can invite you? You are the most amazing thing that happened in my life and yes, I want to be with YOU today. Now, tell me – do you want to be with me?”

Marinette couldn’t believe either her ears or her eyes. All of the time she believed that she was plain, boring Marinette whom no boy would notice or take seriously. She couldn’t dream of capturing a heart of anyone and here was standing a hero of Paris, crazily handsome Chat Noir, begging her to be his Valentine. She couldn’t believe it although she could clearly see him and hear his words. Maybe she was lucky after all.

“More than anything, Chat.”

His face shone right away. He quickly picked the girl up in his arms bridal style. Marinette didn’t even have a second to react (not that she wanted to either) as she was swept off her feet. She hugged him gently and whispered in his ear.

“And where are you taking me, my Prince?”

Chat grinned softly.

“No spoiler, my Princess. Close your eyes and trust me.”

And so she did. As he was caring her, jumping above the roofs of Paris Marinette felt that there were no other place where she wished to be right now, where she would feel safer, more loved or more desired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a 3 chapter fiction all together and now chapter 8 and I am still not done with the date while already planning identity reveal, friends reactions and a wedding!!! (Kidding about the last part, or maybe not) :D


	9. The Date - part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry, guys, it took me so long. Enjoy!

It took Chat twice as long to get to THE spot, not because he wasn’t strong enough to carry Marinette through Paris but because he wanted to do it safely and with minimum discomfort for his princess. Meanwhile the girl was clinging to him for her life. Marinette wasn’t terrified of the heights, she was used to them. She just didn’t have enough experience of not being in control when up high on the roofs. The second he scooped her in his arms, Marinette closed her eyes and decided that you cannot be afraid of what you cannot see. It was a new, wonderful, secure feeling of being held tight by his strong arms. She felt slight wind in her hair and she could hear rapid heartbeat of a heart in his chest, but the most comfort she was coming from being close to him, from the warmth his body eliminated, shared with her all this time when he was carrying her into the unknown.

“Keep your eyes closed, Marinette. We are almost there”

She giggled and leaned closer to him.

“It’s better be really good, Chat. I am risking my life here”

“Well, if you don’t like it, I am willing to accept your revenge – you can carry me.”

She laughed and imagined how proud he must be with himself and his horrible jokes right now before replying. 

“I am the luckiest person in a city to get such a dork date for Valentine’s. Yey! Just my luck.”

Chat laughed back.

“You wound me, princess! By the way we are here!”

The cat-boy let Marinette down and covered her eyes with palms of his hands.

“Are you ready?”

She nodded and opened her eyes as soon as he let his hands down. Wow! What she saw there overweighed all of her expectations and anything she could’ve ever dreamed about. The place looked amazing - just the right amount of old world charm and romanticism, It looked like it came off straight from the most prestigious magazine cover in Paris - a decently sized flat roof with a small rusty brick wall all around and a small opening in one place that was decorated by a beautiful iron railing to let the view of the Seine in. The view was gorgeous! But what took her breath away were the flowers that covered the whole place! There were hundreds and hundreds of roses, different colors, and shapes, with delicate white accents and some green inserts. All of them stood in color-coordinated bouquets on different high platforms so she could see all of them at once. Pink, yellow, white, red, multicolor – any color Marinette could think of she could find here. The aroma was incredible and tantalizing. It hit her right away and her head went spinning from incredible sensations. 

The girl gasped and covered her mouth in a shock.

“Chat… This is incredible! How did you…? That must have cost you a fortune…”

Chat was nervous. He had never gone on a date before and he really wanted to impress Marinette, so he spent as much as he could without causing any suspicions from Natalie or his father. But Marinette was worth it! She was his Princess! He gave up his love for Ladybug for her and he intended to make the most of their relationship. The boy nervously waited for her reaction and when he saw her excitement, a grin exploded on his face. A sudden rush of joy and pride filled him.

“You like it, Marinette?”

The girl looked at him with astonishment in her face.

“Like it? Chat, I love it!!! This is absolutely breathtaking! How did you manage to do it?”

He grinned harder and winked at her.

“I have my ways and sources, princess. Don’t worry about it. The main thing is that you like it.”

Marinette was still looking around, walking between flowers, touching them, smelling them, trying to remember everything, every small detail.

“This is… magnificent!”

She approached Chat again, hugged him softly and placed a light kiss on his lips, causing him to blush slightly as he kissed her back.

“Anything for you, my love.”

The perfect moment was spoiled however by a sudden sound of Marinette’s ringtone coming from her purse and when she checked it, her face was saddened.

“Too bad, I can’t enjoy it longer, Chat. I have to be home in one hour. My parents and I had a deal that I have my fun during the day but at 8 pm they expect me to be home so they can go on a date themselves.”

He pulled her closer and softly kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose. He paced down to her neck with warm butterfly kisses and murmured.

“Then we’ll just skip some parts I’ve planned or more likely all of them and will get to the most important one.”

“And what is it, Chat? You are full of surprises today, kitty. Should I be worried?”

“I think I am the one who should be” - he grinned nervously. 

Chat took Marinette’s hand and led her to a middle of the roof. There, surrounded by roses was spread a fluffy, green blanket with a picnic basket and a vase full of roses. These were the most gorgeous she had ever saw. Bright, yellow roses with deep, red tops – two magnificent colors blending together, creating a perfect harmony in a single flower. Marinette’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, wow! I’ve never seen such a beautiful flowers. Where did you find them?”

“I thought you’d like them the most, Marinette. They remind me of you, because you combine in yourself so many different, contradicting qualities that it amazes me. You can be shy and become sassy the next moment, or you can hate me now and tell me you love me in a sec. Isn’t it spectacular? You are spectacular, just like these flowers.”

Marinette could feel her eyes filled with tears, but not with tears of pain or hurt. No. These were the tears of joy, tears of love, tears of happiness.

“You are unbearable, Chat! I’ve never heard something so lovely about myself.”

He took her into his arms and gazed into her blue eyes that captivated him every time he looked at her.

“You should be hearing this every minute of your life, princess. You are amazing and I intend to make you believe it for once. May I kiss you again?”

The girl giggled.

“Why are you still asking? I thought I already gave you my permission for all the kisses you might want.”

Chat smiled slightly and leaned over to brush over her lips, placing only a small peck on them, leaving her standing there with her eyes closed, holding still and barely breathing, waiting for more. He pulled back and observed her for a minute with an obvious enjoyment.

“Gosh, you are beautiful, Marinette… But if I kiss you now, I won’t have time to give you my present.”

Marinette opened her eyes in surprise and frowned at him.

“Chat, don’t even think about it! You already gave me more than enough. I am not taking anything else. You is all I need…. and maybe some of those flowers…”

Chat swept her suddenly in his arms and spun her around causing Marinette to break suddenly into laughter. Then he softly sat her down her on a blanket and went over to the other side, opening the basket.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, not really. What do you have there?”

He gave her a MENU! Marinette looked intriguingly though the items on his fancy menu: chocolate covered strawberries, canapés, éclairs, cheese puffs, some rather extravagantly looking pastries and all kinds of items she couldn’t even pronounce and have never heard off. Then she saw it – at the bottom of the page, as a last available item, was a small word written in golden cursive letters “Me”. The girl smiled at the boy starring at her and almost whispered.

“On the other hand, I think I’ll take “Me”. I’d rather enjoyed it last time I tried it.”

She closed the menu and passed it back to Chat. He grinned nervously, put the menu behind him and duck into the basket, pulling out containers and putting them aside carefully. Finally, after what it seemed like dozen of different containers Chat pulled out a nice black, velvet box, that looked suspiciously expensive on its own, featuring a green colored note on the top with “Me” written on it. The box was bigger than a ring box, so Marinette relaxed a little but still, she was quiet intrigued. The girl looked back at Chat with question in her eyes and suddenly realized that he was a nervous mess. She never saw him like this – sweating, blushing, nervously shaking, biting his lips.

“Chat, are you ok? What is it...?”

He stood up and offered his hand to pull her up besides him while holding the “Me” order tightly in his other hand. Million thoughts and doubts were buzzing in his head right now, million of emotions and fears… Adrien had to gather all of his strength and bravery even as Chat Noir just to be able to talk right now. He couldn’t imagine… No! He won’t imagine that anything could go wrong. Everything had to go right. It just had to! He proceeded with a shaking voice.

“Marinette, I already told you that I love you. I hope you know that I wasn’t lying when I said so and I want to prove to you that I am serious.”

Oh, no! She knew what he was going to do and she started to freak out inside. NO, no, no!!! Marinette didn’t know if she was ready for this yet! Maybe it can wait; maybe it can stay just as it is now…

“Chat… No, you don’t have to…”

He didn’t let her finish.

“Yes, I do, princess. I want this to work. I want us to work and this is impossible if everything will stay the same. I want to be able to take you on a real date, to a nice place where we don’t have to hide from everyone. I want you to be able to reach me if you feel down and need someone to comfort you. I want to come over to your house while it is light outside and actually use the front door. I want us to have same friends. I want other boys to envy me when they see me with you walking on a street. I want to be able to hug and kiss you at school and I want to be able to tell everyone that I love you and you are mine and I am yours. Don’t you want it to?”

His eyes were pleading, pledging her. They were full of desperation that she has never seen before but they were also full of love, love that could handle anything and everyone. She moved closer to him and whispered.

“Of course I do, you silly. I just wasn’t sure if I can handle it right now, but I think that WE can, together, ok?”

Chat smiled. His free hand reached her cheek and she hugged his hand with hers, pressing it closer to her face, closing her eyes while seeking reassurance and giving it to him at the same time.

“With you I can handle everything…”

They stayed frozen for a minute or two absorbing each other's warmth before Chat continued.

“Can you promise me one thing before I’ll give it to you?”

“You want me to keep your secret no matter what?”

“No. I know that you will, even if something will go wrong, I know that you will. I trust you completely on that. I, I want you to promise me that if you don’t like what you will see there… Can you just promise me not to run away? Can you promise me that you will stay and so we could talk?”

Marinette could see a touch of fear in his bright, green eyes and she wondered why would he even entertain the idea of her running away? Who was he? What about him could make her scared and run away?

“That I can promise you, Chat. I will stay and we will talk.”

Chat took the box in his hands and extended them towards Marinette. She took it with hers but he didn’t let go. She looked up and saw him starring at the box, like his whole life depended on it, paralyzed with fear and uncertainty.

“Chat… I am sure I will like what is inside. I love you with your mask on, even though I have no idea who you are. I will always love you, no matter what and no matter who you are.”

The boy raised his eyes to look at her warming smile and let go of the box.

Marinette inspected it closely. It was very pretty. Here is the lock, small, cute lock. She opened the box and gasped in awe. There laid two gorgeous, white gold necklaces incrusted with small diamonds and rubies. The first one was a small key charm on a simple but beautiful chain. The key was tiny but it was evident that it was made by a master jeweler. On the top it had a couple of small diamonds and red rubies placed in an elegant design. 

The second necklace was much more extravagant. The chain was exquisite, delicate and much more feminine than the first one. It had a heart shaped locket with beautifully designed details cut into the edges and small stones placed into a gorgeous pattern. In a middle of the heart were two elegantly engraved letters “A” and “M”. Both necklaces sparkled brightly in a light of setting sun and Marinette thought that she had never seen more beautiful jewelry or that she will ever see one in a future.

“It’s gorgeous… It’s absolutely stunning, Chat. Where did you find such beautiful pieces? And what are A and M stands for? Is it like “you are my morning (am hours)? Or is it like I AM?”

The girl giggled at her own ridicules words. She just hoped to bring the tension down a bit, because she could feel his every muscle tense and ready to explode. A little, nervous giggle escaped his lips.

“Oh, no. It’s simpler than that. M is the first letter of your name and A is the first letter of mine. My real name, I mean.”

She looked at him curiously. A? Hm?

“Can I open it?”

He nodded and pointed to the first necklace with a key charm.

“That should help you, princess.”

Marinette took the key and found a tiny keyhole on a side of the locket. The girl placed it inside and turned… The heart split into two adjoining halves. Inside it was just as beautiful as on outside with some rubies, diamonds and designs. Left part had a small phrase written on it. “I will always love you”. Sweet and short… Then her sight fell on the other half… It featured two portraits engraved into the two parts of the heart – one of her and one…

A flash of green light made her look up and there was he… Adrien, sitting across from her, nervously waving his hand and trying really, really hard to smile. 

“Hi…”

Marinette froze. She was prepared for everything, anybody, but Adrien… Somehow, he was the last person she even contemplated for the role. She wondered why? Maybe because they were so different? Maybe because she had such different experiences with them? Maybe… She didn’t know why, she didn’t, just didn’t. And frankly she didn’t care right now. 

“Adrien…?”

“Are you ok with…me… being me?

Her whole week flew in front of her eyes - Adrien’s strange behavior, from his avoiding her to asking her out. She was confused, standing in a middle of crossroads, not knowing what to even think and feel. She loved Chat, she liked Adrien. Why didn’t she see it before? Why didn’t HE tell her before? She remembered that she rejected him just this morning and then… and then Chat broke her heart. The pain started to stir up again. He broke her heart for a second time, first as Adrien, then as Chat. If he would just tell her before or at least in a morning… They would be on a date today and Chat would’ve not hurt Ladybug, would’ve not HURT HER again. The pain… Why does it hurt again?

“Why didn’t you tell me before, Adrien..?”

She whispered with tears standing in her eyes. Adrien steered up, worried more than ever and tried to hug her but Marinette stopped him. She turned away, looking at the sunset.

“I wanted to. I was waiting for a perfect moment. Marinette, I… I really wanted…”

“Why did you avoid me then? Why did you make me fall for Chat and avoided me as Adrien? I loved you! I loved Adrien for years now! Why Chat?”

He bowed his head, not knowing what to say. The truth probably would be the best choice. He felt as if he had nothing to lose at this moment because Marinette didn’t look too happy about Adrien being Chat Noir. 

“I thought you preferred Chat. Marinette, I’ll tell you everything… I didn’t really … considered you before… because, because… I was too consumed with Ladybug. But when we started to hand out, you and me, as Chat, I discovered what an amazing person you are, I noticed how beautiful you are, I fell in love with you, Marinette… I kicked myself for not seeing you before that fateful night multiple times, believe me… and yes, I messed up, badly messed up. I wanted you to love me for who I truly am. I wanted you to love Chat more than Adrien because that’s me! That’s the real me. I love you, Marinette. Please, tell me that Adrien didn’t changed your feeling for me?”

Marinette was still watching a setting sun. She heard every word. She could hear his voice shake and tremble. She could hear his pain, his sincerity, his honesty. The girl closed her eyes trying to calm down, trying to listen to what her heart was telling her. That was the moment when she decided that she wanted to do what she wants and not what everyone else would want, not what everyone else would approve of. She wanted for once to shut everyone’s opinion up and listen to her heart.

“I still love you, Ch… Adrien. Even after all the pain you caused me, I somehow still do. I think I just need time to… to think it over, to come with terms of it.”

She paused for a minute, trying to think what to say next. Chat came closer to her, looked into her eyes, searching for something, trying to understand why, why she was so hurt.

“My princess, tell me what I can do to heal your heart? I didn’t want to cause you pain… When I rejected you that time I didn’t know what a stupid fool I was… Does it still hurt from back then? Please, forgive me. I will never hurt you again, just let me heal you broken heart.”

Marinette smiled softly.

“No, it doesn’t hurt from back then, Adrien. Chat healed my heart long time ago after you broke it. But it still hurts after you broke it today again… Hurts very much… Hurts because I know now that you could’ve prevented it, but you didn’t…”

Adrien was puzzled. He didn’t remember hurting her today. If anything it was her who declined his date offer.

“Marinette, am I missing something? What did I do this time?”

She looked at him and only then she realized that it was only him who revealed his identity. He still didn’t know that she was Ladybug. He could’ve known that he broke her heart today. Marinette couldn’t blame him for that. The only person that could be blame was she. She wanted to play with him, to force him to love someone he didn’t love anymore. Chat never intended to hurt her – she made him to do so herself. Somehow this thought lighten her mood immensely and she giggled at him and his astonished, completely lost face. 

“Oops! Forgot to mention one tiny, little detail.”

Marinette took her purse and opened it. Out flew a small red creature and waived at Adrien shyly, who stood there speechless and could not bring himself to say anything. Suddenly something black zoomed past him and attach itself to a red creature to much of Marinette’s surprise. Plagg was hugging Tikki and grinning widely.

“Tikki! My dearest friend! How I missed you! You look just as sweet. Do you have any cheese pastry for me? I’ve missed you so much! You always pick someone who has a good access to cheese pastries. Did you miss me? Did you? My puns? My charm? My cuteness? Anything?”

Tikki tried to brush him off to no avail.

“You are still smelling like cheese, Plagg. Let me go!”

Adrien’s eyes grew wider. It was a kwammi! Red kwammi with black dots! Ladybug kwammi? Marinette is Ladybug? How could he not see? How could he not suspect anything before? His mind went black in an overdrive and only started to clear a bit when he heard Marinette laughing hard at the scene that was before them – Tikki trying to untangle herself from Plagg, who begged her for cheese and complained at how unlucky he is while spicing his speech with horrible cat puns. When the laugh finally stopped and Tikki who freed herself hid back into Marinette’s purse, he could speak again.

“Well, THAT might explain some things. Why didn’t YOU tell me before?”

Marinette smiled shyly.

“Same reason? I really thought that you’d prefer Ladybug. She is brave, amazing, beautiful…”

Adrien suddenly stood right in front of her and pressed his finger to her lips, stopping her words as they flowed.

“Don’t you start again with an “old, boring Marinette”. I told you multiple times and I will tell you million times more that you are amazing, Marinette. Yes, Ladybug is wonderful but only because you are her. Without you she wouldn’t be who she is. You are her. And I love you… and want to kiss you so badly right now…”

This time it was Marinette who silenced him, but she didn’t use her finger. She had a better way to stop him from talking. A way that not only will silence him but start to heal them, give them a new beginning. A kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hopefully you enjoyed it! This is not the end yet but it is close. Following chapters will be more fun and fluff than angst, because, come on, how much of it can they handle?


	10. What was done with love brought a lot of complications :)

The best mornings are the ones you have after a nice dream. Marinette had the best dream ever. She dreamed of Adrien being Chat Noir and of their date and of that gorgeous necklace and roses… She could practically smell the roses. Man, that dream was too real, but too unbelievable to be true…

The girl was just waking up. Her sleepy eyes were closed when she felt Tikki to touch down in front of her nose.

“Good morning, Marinette.” She whispered.

“Good morning, Tikki.”

“You seem to be in a good mood, sweetie.”

Marinette smiled, still not opening her eyes yet.

“I am. I had an awesome dream. Adrien is Chat Noir, he took me on a date, we kissed… He gave me that gorgeous, amazing necklace and roses… I can still smell them, many-many roses, pink and white and red and yellow…”

Tikki giggled as Marinette wrinkled her nose and demonstratively smelled the air. No, smell was too real! What a strangely realistic dream.

“It was not a dream, Marinette.”

Marinette smirked internally – this was too good to be true, it could not have been anything but a silly, wishful dream. But the smell… was too... real… The girl opened her eyes and looked around her room. The sight forced her to jump in her bed in an instant! There were roses! Roses from her dream date! Hundreds of them! Every possible corner and surface in her room had vases with roses… from her date…with Chat/Adrien…from a dream she had… Marinette rubbed her eyes in hopes that she was seeing thing but the roses didn’t go away. She looked shocked at her kwammi.

“What?! Tikki! How?!”

Tikki zoomed to her nose with a worried expression and put her finger to her lips, shushing Marinette.

“Shush… You’ll wake him up.”

Marinette’s eyes grew even wider when she looked in a direction Tikki indicated. There, curled in a ball like a cat, was sleeping Adrien. He was fully clothed in his regular outfit except for the shoes and looked absolutely dreamy with his messy hair falling on his gorgeous face, smiling in his dream and blushing slightly. Marinette turned sharply back to Tikki and silently asked.

“How? What happened?”

Tikki giggled some more and motioned to the girl to climb down to her room where they could talk without waking Adrien up. Marinette slowly followed the kwammi. Once they were safely down on her chaise, she sat and prepared to listen. The girl probably have really been out of it if she couldn’t remember how Adrien ended up in her bed – he definitely wasn’t there when she fell asleep. Tikki started explaining with an innocent shrug of her shoulders.

“Well, there is really little to explain, Marinette. You were fast asleep the minute you touched your sheets and I don’t blame you. After such an emotional day you had yesterday, anyone would’ve been exhausted! Anyway, around five o’clock in a morning I heard a knock on a window. When I looked outside - it was Chat with flowers in his hands. He said that he didn’t want your flowers to go to waste so he was bringing them to you and because the balcony was already full he was wondering if I will let him put some in your room.”

“And you did...?”

Marinette looked around and returned her glaze at apologetically smiling Tikki.

“Is that such a bad idea, Marinette? He worked so hard and you did love the flowers, didn’t you?”

Marinette was slowly returning to reality.

“It wasn’t a dream, Tikki, now was it? It really happened… Adrien is Chat… And he likes me!!!”

The girl put her hands to her chest and felt something there. She looked down. There was her necklace, the one Adrien gave her yesterday, a heart-shaped locket. She squealed joyfully but had to stop when Tikki threw herself at her mouth to silence her.

“Shush, Marinette! You’ll wake him up. He didn’t sleep a lot, unlike someone!” 

Marinette looked at her bed but she couldn’t see him. He was well hidden at the very corner of her bed under a blanket and some pillows. Then she gasped.

“Tikki, why is he still here? Why did he fall asleep here anyway? It wasn’t the smartest idea. What if my parents would’ve walked in and found us?”

Kwammi giggled again.

“When he finished with the flowers, which took him some time, he wanted to give you a good morning kiss, but you were asleep. So he decided to wait until you wake up since I told him that it shouldn’t take long… Well, you slept more than usual today and he was very tired so…he kind of drifted off. And your mom doesn’t check on you, unless there is a situation.”

Marinette smiled to herself.

“Aww! My poor kitty! Should I wake him with my own good morning kiss or let him sleep some more? Neh, I’ll let him sleep while I take a shower and than we’ll see what to do.”

The girl took a shower and got ready for her day. She climbed to her bed in order to wake Adrien up but couldn’t do it to him. She couldn’t disturb his angelic sleep. He was obviously having a good dream since she could hear him purr a little and caught him cuddling one of her pillows. She decided to have a breakfast first and then wake Adrien up. 

The moment Marinette stepped on her floor, she heard her mom calling her name almost right behind her door. The girl panicked – she couldn’t let her mom in a room! How will she explain tons of roses and a sleeping Adrien??? Marinette zoomed outside her room right away.

“Yes, mom! What is it?”

Sabine looked at her surprisingly standing only a few steps away from her room.

“Why are you so flurried in a morning, Marinette?”

The girl smiled nervously.

“Oh! Nothing. I just was startled by your voice. What happened?”

Sabine looked at her worriedly but continued.

“Alya called. She said that she couldn’t reach your cell but she has something big to tell you. Something about Chat Noir and flowers… and all night… I think… She said she’ll be here in five minutes to tell you everything herself.”

Marinette froze in a dead panic. She couldn’t let her mom see Adrien but WHAT will happen if Alya armed with the info she thought she had will burst into her room full of flowers and a sleeping Adrien?!!! Neither of their secret identities would be safe. She couldn’t let it happen!

“Ok, mom! I’ll call her.”

Marinette sprinted back to her room, closing door behind her quietly and looked at her phone. It was on a silent mode, that’s why she didn’t hear it. 10 missed calls from Alya… Last one being about 5 minutes ago. She quickly dialed up her friend’s number.

“Alya! Hi! Sorry about it. Yeh! I was in a shower. Don’t come right now. My room is kind of in a horrible state, early spring-cleaning combined with a New Year getting rid of the clutter thing. Yes, I know, you’ve seen it in a worst condition but I was planning to go out anyway. Aha! Let’s meet at the park. You are there already? Ok, just a moment, I’ll be there soon. No - no! Just wait for me there.”

Ok… That was surprisingly easy. The disaster was averted… for now. Good news – she managed to keep Alya away from her room. Bad news – if she wanted to keep Alya away she needed to leave NOW, meaning that she didn’t have enough time to wake up Adrien and leaving him on her bed, meant that he might be discovered by her parents. What was the least bad scenario right now? In panic, Marinette desperately turned to her kwammi.

“Tikki, I have to run to the park to meet Alya right now so she doesn’t come here. Please, either wake Adrien up and tell him to sneak out carefully or keep him from being discovered by my mom and dad.”

The kwammi didn’t have enough time to react. She blinked and Marinette was gone. She floated back to Adrien and thought about her options. Should she wake him or not? Can she keep him from being discovered or was it too risky? Tikki thought about it for a minute – she was torn between letting the poor guy to catch on his sleep and protecting Marinette from even a possibility of a scandal. Finally, she made up her mind and got straight to actions…

Meanwhile Marinette ran through the park, praying that Alya didn’t discovered anything too controversial. She saw her friend standing by a fountain, smirking at her phone, looking at something there. Alya raised her head and smiled even more intensely when she saw Marinette. She definitely was over the moon with what she had on her phone.

“You’ll never guess what I received this morning, Marinette! Just look at those pictures!”

She pushed her phone to an out of breath Marinette. There, in a high resolution, was a picture of Chat running through the roofs with a couple of rose bouquets in his hands. Marinette swapped to a next picture, same Chat, same roof, different roses… She swiped and swiped and swiped. There were dozens of pictures with running Chat with roses in his hands. Luckily they all were taken from a same location, definitely not close to her house. So far nothing pointed directly to her or Adrien and she needed to keep it that way.

“Can you believe it? Someone took all these pictures from their window. According to him, Chat was running from about 3 am until just barely before the sunrise, caring roses to someone! Taking in a consideration that it was Valentine’s Day yesterday I bet he was delivering them to his Lady! Wouldn’t it awesome to find out who she is, Marinette? All I need is to find out which girl in Paris received an astonishing amount of roses this morning!”

Alya was extremely delighted while Marinette was quietly freaking out inside. Way to go, Chat! Very smart! She wanted to kick hard this cat’s pretty ass, but she had to deal with Alya first.

“That’s a great idea, Alya! But how will you know who received all those roses? Do you really think that Ladybug will come forward? Especially knowing that you have these pictures. They are on your blog already, aren’t they?”

Alya frowned.

“I am not stupid, Marinette! Of course, she won’t, especially because I did upload a couple of pictures on purpose. However, I hope that someone close to her might! I bet either her neighbors or her friends will see those roses and post a picture or something. Believe me, this many flowers cannot go unnoticed. We’ll just have to wait and see. Let’s go to your place. This way you can start working on our dresses for the prom, which is in two weeks if you remember and I will try to track Ladybug down.”

Marinette panicked. She had to keep Alya out of the room or her secret identity, and Adrien’s for that matter will be blown out in an open with fireworks. Think, Marinette! Think!!!

“Um.., I was… on my way… somewhere… right now, so I can’t go back with you. There is… this thing… that my mom asked me to do… right now. Like, really right now. Why don’t you go back home and when I am done with that thing my mom asked me to do right now, I’ll come by and we will work there, at your room in your house? I’ll bring my sketchbook and will work on those dresses too.”

The blogger looked at Marinette suspiciously. It looked like Marinette was trying to keep Alya away from her room… She narrowed her eyes and watched Marinette’s nervous grin closely trying to see what was going on.

“Neh, - Alya shagged the thought away – Marinette won’t lie to me. She is my best friend and she can’t lie in my face.”

“Good! But you better come in an hour or I’m coming after you, girl!”

One – zero in Marinette’s favor! She scored herself an hour’s time to try to prevent the disaster. The girls parted their ways and Marinette raced back to her home, wondering what Tikki decided to do about Adrien and trying to figure out what she will do about the flowers. She had to get rid of them without being seen by anyone or…

As she was coming into a house a smell of coffee and fresh pastries hit her nose. Right… she didn’t have her breakfast yet… She really should grab something to eat while dealing with the situation. Marinette’s head was spinning from all the thoughts and running on an empty stomach when she entered her kitchen. The first thing she saw were her parents sitting at a table, which was unusual for this time of the day, with someone else. A boy, a blond boy… In a rush Marinette didn’t pay much attention at first but the second this blond boy turned around she froze in her place, color draining from her face, sweat starting to cover her palms and forehead. Adrien…

The group was all smiles, drinking tea, and chatting friendly. From the looks of her parents Marinette concluded that either her parents are perfectly fine with Adrien being discovered in her bedroom (or on her bed) first thing in a morning or she was definitely missing something…

“Oh, Marinette! Here you are! We were waiting for you. This nice classmate of yours… Adrien, right..? came by to borrow some notes from you. Something about the latest project for school.

Her father looked fondly at the flustering Adrien with an apparent amusement. He suspected that the boy in question was here not because of the notes (because who in his right mind thinks about a project on Sunday morning, a day after Valentine’s Day?) but he didn’t mind his daughter to finally have some male friends, nice-looking AND well-mannered ones for that matter. He watched Marinette blush even harder than Adrien as she blinked at them.

“A project..? Which one, Adrien?”

“Oh, the last one, about the flowers. I am sorry… I hope it is not a lot of trouble. I had to leave early on the day we received instructions and Nino can’t help me with that right now. So I thought I’d ask you. Is that alright?”

Marinette blinked once more before it finally hit her. She got a grip of herself for a moment – her parents didn’t discover Adrien. Apparently he walked in through the front door. Now, she can kick that damn cat and try to deal with the flowers in her bedroom! She gained back her confidence and vigor.

“Oh! The flower one! Yes! It’s totally fine! Come! It’s upstairs!”

The girl run up to Adrien and grabbed his arm before she practically dragged him upstairs to her room startling her parents and Adrien in a process. Sabine shook her head under a questioning look of her husband.

“Don’t look at me, I have no idea.”

Marinette pushed baffled Adrien into her bedroom and closed her door carefully, checking it twice to make sure it was locked. 

“Finally I can kick your ass you, damn cat! What were you thinking…” – she said turning around. 

But the second she was facing him, Marinette was in his arms. Adrien hugged her gently but tight, pressing her close to himself and absorbing her warmth, cuddling her. Marinette squealed a little and wanted to protest but she didn’t have a chance because his lips were already claiming hers passionately. He was inhaling her sweet breath, enjoying the softness of her delicious lips and giving her all the love he felt for her in his heart. All the love he craved, everything he ever wanted he was giving to her, his Lady, his Princess, his Marinette. He was lost in the luscious taste of her mouth… When they broke away, the girl lost her voice and was just starring at him. Adrien smiled softly.

“Good morning, Marinette.”

He let her go and she smiled back.

“Silly kitty. You know how to calm me down. I wanted to kick you as hard as I can.”

Adrien was honestly surprised.

“Why? I did nothing wrong. Did I?”

Marinette laughed looking at his dismayed face. She raised her hands to the sides pointing out to the flowers.

“This Adrien. You did this.”

The boy grinned obviously very proud of what he did.

“Not funny, Adrien. I understand that you meant only well but somebody took a lot of pictures of you caring those and now Alya is sniffing around for the girl who received all these flowers because she is dead flat sure that this girl is Ladybug!”

The grin fell from Adrien’s face.

“Oops! I didn’t though about it. That could be a problem, a minor side effect? What do we do now?”

Now was Marinette’s time to grin.

“Now we, my dear kitten, are hiding all of these somewhere, keeping Alya away for a day and getting rid of the flowers at night.”

His face saddened as his hands slid down his frame in an obvious disappointment.

“So much for nothing. I aimed to make your morning with these flowers and spend this whole day with you… Enjoying for once being a couple at last, like normal people do…”

Marinette panicked and stopped his speech.

“Wait, Adrien! Right now we have to deal with this disaster and later … Later I think we should keep us a secret for a while…”

Adrien was shocked even more at her words. She wanted to keep them a secret? Why? Was she embarrassed by him? Wasn’t he good enough to be her boyfriend? He thought that they agreed to be a couple yesterday… Or was it a dream?

“Why? I thought you always wanted to be with me… I thought we decided to start dating yesterday… We’re finally together, Marinette. Why should we hide it?”

Marinette stepped close to him and cupped his face with the palms of her hands looking lovingly in his green eyes. She leaned in and kissed his lips slowly. 

“I did and I still do, Adrien. I love you, very – very much, but don’t forget that Marinette everyone knows wasn’t able to talk to you normally, without stuttering, and Adrien didn’t really notice the shy girl from his class. Don’t you think everyone won’t find it a bit suspicious us being a couple all of a sudden? We need to warm them up to the idea and then tell them.”

Adrien hugged her back and decided that he needed another kiss, just to make sure that it wasn’t a dream. A sweet, affectionate kiss, answered by her instantly, shared by two souls longing to be with each other.

“I can live with that for a while… a small while... because it will be very hard not to hug you or kiss you every time I see you.”

The girl giggled.

“Silly, kitty. Let’s deal with the roses now. I have half an hour left before Alya will come for my soul. By the way, how did you ended up downstairs sipping tea with my parents?”

Adrien’s lips split in a wistful smile.

“Your parents are so nice, Marinette. I am honestly jealous a bit.”

The girl grinned.

“You don’t need to be, Adrien. I can share. So, what is the story.”

“Nothing interesting. Tikki woke me up and told me that I needed to leave because you had some kind of emergency and didn’t want me being discovered by your mom. However, I didn’t kiss you good morning and I was kind of hungry, so I slipped out of your balcony as a Chat, transformed back and walked in your bakery as Adrien, claiming that I need to borrow your notes. The rest is even simplier. Your parents asked me if I wanted tea and…”

“Got it! You are one smart cookie, kitty. Now, let’s deal with the flowers before I need to leave for Alya’s.”

For the next twenty minutes they feverishly took out everything that could be taken out of Marinette’s closets and stuffed bouquets of roses everywhere they could be stacked out of the view. By the time they finished her room was a mess – clothes and school supplies, her sewing and art – everything was out of its place but luckily most of the flowers were hidden. The last thing Marinette did was to lock her bathroom so nobody would walk in on a bathtub full of flowers.

“Ok, so that will do in case my parents will come here but Alya won’t be fooled. We need to keep her occupied for the whole day. Other ways she will find a way to get into my room, since I don’t think I fooled her good enough in a morning…”

Marinette was pacing her room, trying to think out a foolproof plan. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, her face lighting up with an obvious idea.

“Got it! Adrien, you need to go!”

The boy was shocked for the third time in a last hour. She was kicking him out again?

“What? Why?”

“You need to go home and call Nino. Get him to invite you to a movie today and somehow make him invite Alya. Just make sure that the whole thing would be Nino’s idea and that he mentions to Alya that you are also going. Got it?”

She was already pushing him out of the door. Adrien was confused. How is him going to the movies will keep Alya away from Marinette. Well it would… for a few hours… but why did he need to mention that he is going too to Alya? Did Alya also has a crush on him? The though make him very uncomfortable since he knew too well that Nino was crushing hard on the blogger since the start of their senior year.

“Why? What are you thinking about? How will it work?”

Marinette was already dragging him down the stairs, grabbing a sandwich from her startled mother on a way out.

“Bye mom, I am off to Alya’s. I started spring cleaning so don’t be horrified. I’ll finish when I will return!”

When they were outside Marinette turned to confused Adrien continued almost whispering.

“I really wish I could kiss you right now, kitty, but it’s not safe yet. Plus my parents are probably watching us. So just imagine that I am kissing you right now. And trust me, my plan will work. You’ll see, Alya won’t have time to visit my room today. Now, go! Love you!”

Adrien was still standing at the bakery’s door, watching Marinette zoomed away in an opposite direction. Man, this girl was something special! He didn’t understand her sometimes but she was something… Fire in her eyes and confidence in her soul, the sweetness of her lips and the bottomless blue of her eyes. He lost himself already and there were no getting out ever or a return to his previous life. Adrien looked at her disappearing figure ad smiled.

“Love you too, princess…”

Meanwhile somewhere very close...

“Either she is very oblivious to this young man’s feelings or she knows we are watching.”

“Of course she knows we are watching, Tom. She is our daughter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I am able to post it. Sorry for the delay - finals week and Christmas rush. Hope you enjoy it.


	11. From one disaster to the next

Marinette speed off to Alya’s house and entered her room just as her friend was about to go look for her.

“Finally, Marinette! I thought you went missing or something. Are you done with your chores? Can we focus on what is really important now?”

Marinette laughed softly. She loved Alya to death but her set of priorities was a bit bizarre sometimes or rather always. Basically it went like this:  
#1 Ladyblog and everything related to Ladybug and Chat Noir  
#2 See #1  
# 3 See #1  
# 4 See #1  
# 5 Marinette and helping her with that hopeless crush on Adrien  
# 6 Everything else

No wonder she was throwing herself in all of those dangerous situations when akuma attacked just to get a glimpse of her favorite heroes and no wonder, she was the most dangerous person for Marinette right now if she wanted to keep her secret a secret any longer. So the girl put on her best careless look.

“Of course we can Alya. So what’s new?”

Alya smirked.

“Not much. I did receive a couple more pictures from different locations but all of them are murky and dark. It’s even impossible to distinguish the locations where they were taken. Better show me our dresses designs while we wait for something worthy of my time and attention.”

Marinette was probably never happier to show her work before as she was now. Now it was not only for fun but also served as a perfect distraction for her nosy friend. Their graduation prom was two weeks away and the designer was working on the dresses for some time now – she wanted them to be perfect. For Alya she had a couple of choices – a yellow, floor length, Greek goddess gown or a purple, knee length, princess style dress. Marinette loved both of them and couldn’t decide which one to make so she left that choice for Alya. For herself she already had a final design of her dream dress but she decided to keep it a secret even from her best friend. So for now the girls focused on disputing which dress will better suit the blogger before their conversation shifted to their future dates. They weren’t invited yet and it looked like they needed to act if they wanted to go with actual boys and not by themselves.

“So do you think you can finally ask Adrien out, Marinette? It’s your last chance, girl! You absolutely have to do it or I WILL do it for you!!!”

Marinette blushed at her words. Even thought Adrien and she didn’t discuss the prom yesterday, she figured that her date was probably secured but she needed to play it safe for now. A look of amusement and annoyance appeared on her face.

“No! You won’t!!! Alya, don’t even think about it!”

The girl laughed and continued to tease her victim.

“Oh, yes I will!!! I promise you, Marinette – if you won’t ask him by the end of next week I will ask him for you! Come on, Marinette. You’ve been pinning after him for years now. Didn’t you gather enough courage for at least trying? You won’t have another chance like this anymore.”

Her voice went from teasing to pleading very fast. Alya loved Marinette very much but even she was sometimes astonished by how painfully shy she was around Adrien. She made it her purpose in a free from Ladybug time to do everything and anything possible to make Adrinette happen.

“Oh, Alya. I think I can try one more time but it’s just soooo hard. You know how I get around Adrien… I always think I can do it until I actually try… And then I freeze or stutter or… Forget it! Last time I ended up asking him if I can eat his homework! Or a time before that… Remember? I ask him if he needed to borrow my makeup! I am hopeless!

Alya came closer and hugged Marinette.

“Hey, girl. I know you can do it now. I believe you can. You’ve matured… a little. So you can!!!”

Marinette suddenly had a brilliant thought to help her friend instead. Adrien had mentioned a couple of times that Nino liked Alya but he was too shy to ask her out and Alya didn’t make it easier by always escaping him with different excuses when their conversation started to head into THAT direction.

“Tell you what – you ask Nino out and I’ll ask Adrien… at the same time. How about it? If you’ll do it with me, then I can definitely do it.”

Now it was Alya’s turn to blush. She had noticed that Nino was paying an extra attention to her lately and to be honest she didn’t mind it a bit, but to plainly ask him out? It frighten her and excited at the same time. She could probably do it but only if it will help Marinette… For Marinette only… And only because she wanted to help Marinette… Only because of that! However, she needed to make sure that it wasn’t going to backfire first…

“No-no-no! I’ll tell you what – you ask Adrien first and I will ask Nino after you or I’ll end up with a date and you will chicken out again!”

Marinette giggled.

“You blushed, Alya! You like him! I know you do. Why didn’t you ask him out before? It’s not like you shy around him.”

Alya turned crimson and puffed at Marinette.

“Maybe I do or maybe I don’t. So what? I just … didn’t have enough time… to ask him out because … because I was busy with Ladyblog! There!”

Marinette burst with a fit of laughs.

“That is the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard! But to be honest, knowing you I might actually believe it.”

Her laugh was interrupted by a hit hop tune coming from Alya’s phone. She glanced at it and groaned.

“Speaking of the devil… Hello, Nino! … I am fine. You?.... No, nothing important … a movie?... in an hour?... Adrien?... Of course I want to but do you mind if I invite Marinette also… Aha… good… That’s settled then… See you there.”

Alya pressed disconnect and grinned at Marinette who was trying her hardest to look interested and intrigued.

“I just made your day or maybe your week, Marinette! Or maybe I’ve just settled your life! That’s one free prom dress from you to repay me and a role of maid of honor at your wedding!”

Marinette jumped in her place.

“Alya! What are you talking about? What happened? You know that the dress is a gift anyway and you certainly will be my maid of honor. Don’t torture me. I’ve heard you say Adrien and a movie in a single phone conversation. Just, please, tell me that it is what I think it is?”

Alya came close to Marinette and looked straight into her eyes with a serious expression on her face.

“Now, Marinette, you better behave yourself and not squeal too hard when I tell you that… we are going to a movie in one hour with Nino and Adrien!!!”

Both girls started to jump and make some pretty unrecognizable sounds at the same time. They squealed hard and jumped around her room not paying any attention to Alya’s little siblings staring at them until her mom came over from a kitchen wondering what has happened.

“Oh my gosh! A movie with Adrien!!! Alya, you are my hero! What happened? How did you manage? Do you realize that I can sit with him and maybe share popcorn and maybe he will walk me home… Aght, I love you, Alya!”

Alya proudly looked over at the girl.

“It’s not me, Marinette. It’s all Nino’s fault. He said that they were bored (they meaning Adrien and him) so they decided to go catch that cool, new action flick that came out last week. Apparently, it was Nino who proposed to invite us also because … Well he didn’t say why… He just said that he wanted to see it with me…”

Alya was starting to blush again and somehow learned to stutter in a minute.

“Um… he.. w-wanted to… seeeee it w-w-ith me… Oh my gosh, Marinette! He practically was asking me on a date???!!!”

Marinette tried her best to focus on Alya right now and not on how wonderfully Adrien has fulfilled her plan.

“Wow! Alya! Congratulations!!! I told you he likes you! I am so happy for you!!! Wait… How come Adrien and I are coming then if it’s your date? We will only get in your way.”

Alya frowned at Marinette and continued.

“Don’t say nonsense! Nino said that … well… he wanted to go with me…. but because they already made plans with Adrien…. Well he still wanted to go with me … so he asked Adrien if it’s okay if he invited me too… And I kind of suggested you…so it’s a double date, I guess…”

Marinette squealed once again.

“A double date with Adrien! Alya, have I told you that I love you??? Very-very much!!! You dress will be spectacular and totally free!!! Now I think we should get going if we don’t want to be late.”

When they arrived at the movie theater Nino and Adrien were already there. All four of them blushed simultaneously, each for their own reason and no one said anything about it because they didn’t want to be implicated themselves. After greetings they decided that Alya and Nino will get snacks while Adrien and Marinette will buy their tickets. When their friends left, Adrien looked at Marinette.

“Hi there… again. I can’t greet you properly so just imagine that I am kissing you right now – first you lips, then you jawline. Then I am proceeding to you collarbone…”

Marinette was crimson now.

“Shush, Adrien. People will hear you.”

“I don’t care, Marinette. I was waiting for so long to actually be able to say this that I honestly don’t care.”

He grinned and looked absolutely love-struck at the girl. 

“By the way, it was very easy to get Nino to invite you, guys. He is head over heels for Alya. I wonder, when will they start dating?”

“I think rather sooner than later” – smirked Marinette with a knowing look.

“Now, listen. This will tie Alya up for a couple of hours but we still need her occupied after the movie. So when we will finish and you will propose to walk us home, ok? Take a north route. There will be a café with an arcade center on La Rue Principale. Alya is very competitive so if someone will suggest going to grab a bite at the café I can challenge her for a game. And that, believe me, will keep her there for hours. Sounds good?”

“Anything for you, My Lady”.

The time they spent at the movie theater was fantastic! Alya made sure that Marinette and Adrien were sitting together which made Nino extremely happy since he could sit with Alya. About ten minutes after a start Marinette felt somebody’s taking her hand. Adrien… He glanced at her with an apologetic smile.

“Can I? I am not scared of the scenes, don’t even think so. I just need to hold you when you are so close to me.”

Marinette looked at Adrien and smiled. Her sight fell on his neck. There was her chain tucked behind his shirt, the one she gave to him yesterday. The memories arose freshly in her mind – when Chat brought her home after their date she took one of the necklaces he gave her, the one with a key charm, and gave it to him.

“It’s you who should have it, Adrien. You are the one holding a key to my heart, you should be the one holding the key to my heart locket too.”

She wondered later if that was what he originally planed since the chain on that particular necklace was very masculine while the one on her locket was definitely feminine. Nevertheless, she was flattered that Adrien was wearing it. She herself left her necklace at home, in her box of secrets, until they will start dating officially. She lip-synced to the boy.

“I love you.”

He smiled and said it back.

After the movie everything went as planned. The boys offered to walk girls home and when they were passing the mentioned café, Adrien proposed to go inside for a late lunch. Once they finished their meals Marinette didn’t even had to challenge Alya to a game. It was Nino who challenged Alya and she just couldn’t pass on the offer! After hours of play it started to get dark so the group headed home. First they walked Alya, then Nino. Next was Marinette. Standing at her bakery’s door they couldn’t part. Adrien hugged her softly.

“I wish I didn’t have to but I need to show my face at home today for at least a couple of hours, Marinette.”

“That’s fine. I need to wait until my parents are asleep anyway. Come back after 11. We need to deal with the flowers tonight.”

She stroked his cheek and played with his hair a bit until Adrien caught her palm and kissed it.

“I am not the only one who can’t keep myself in check, am I, Princess?”

“You wish, kitty. It’s dark, so nobody will see. Now, the sooner we part the better. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

She placed a quick kiss on his cheek and dashed inside. Adrien touched the still burning spot and whispered with a smile before departing.

“I’ll never get used to it… See you, Princess.”  
____________________

“Who was that, Marinette?”

Her dad and mom were definitely waiting for her when she entered their living room. They looked serious and Marinette knew immediately that something was wrong.

“Um, just a friend… The one who came to borrow the notes in the morning.”

Tom crossed his hands on his chest and frowned.

“So instead of notes you gave him a kiss?”

His daughter went speechless and red. They were watching! Of course, they would be, she knew they liked a good scoop and they liked to tease their only child with their crazy ideas and embarrass her in front of her friends. Not that they didn’t love her, they did, very-very much. They just were young in their spirit and liked to have fun of their own sometimes. And honestly, if it wasn’t her on the other end, she would definitely be there watching with them and teasing whoever it was down there kissing their “friend” out of their comfort zone.

“Um, … ah…. It’s not what you think dad…it’s….it’s…. he’s… he… is…”

She was a stuttering mess, not knowing how to wiggle out of this one.

“He is your boyfriend. Right, Marinette? At least I hope he is.” 

Wait. What? Did she just hear that her dad was HOPING that Adrien was her boyfriend? Marinette shot her head up thinking that she misheard her dad’s voice. Her huge father was standing there grinning at her; his serious look vanished without a trace while her mom was picking out from behind him giggling.

“You are not mad?”

Tom smiled and hugged his little, embarrassed daughter.

“Why would I be, you silly? You are 17, turning 18 this year! It’s about time you got one of those! And if that’s the one we met today morning I am certainly glad. He seemed like a nice fellow. But you do realize what you need to do now?”

The seriousness came back to his face and his voice. Marinette turned crimson.

“Dad! What are you talking about?! We barely kissed!”

Tom laughed. Sabine was almost bending in half with giggles.

“Silly Marinette! I meant that you have to invite him over so we can get to know each other better. For a dinner. How about it? I have to approve him, don’t I?”

The girl blushed even harder.

“I’ll talk to him, dad. But, please, don’t tell anybody. We just got together and no one knows yet. Ok?”

“Don’t worry, kiddo! My mouth is sealed. Can’t guarantee that your mother will keep quiet thought…”

An angry squeak interrupted him.

“Hey!!! Tom!!! Of course I’ll keep quiet, sweetie. Don’t worry about me. And I will keep your father in check too. Right, Tom?”

After some more giggles and teasers the three of them parted their ways for the day. Marinette was kind of glad that her parents knew everything already – it will be easier for Adrien and her to meet if her parents were in a know. She sighted when she entered her room. Marinette almost forgot in what state she left it earlier. It was ruined! A disaster! Everything out of it’s place and still loads of flowers everywhere. What were they going to do with them?

A knock on a trapdoor interrupted her thoughts. Chat.

“So soon, kitty?”

“What do you mean? It’s 10:45.”

“Already? Haven’t noticed…”

Again! He did it again. Marinette found herself in his arms being kissed vigorously. His lips moved passionately from her lips to her neck. She was burning, trying to suppress quiet moans trying to come out of her throat but was unsuccessful. That gave the boy even more encouragement. He was murmuring between his affectionate kisses.

“I… missed… you… was… so … hard… to be … so close… and …not … touch… you … not… kiss…”

They were sitting on her bed so when he pressed his body against her a little harder than usual Marinette didn’t bother to hold her balance. She fell back into her pillows and let him kiss her even more intensely. She hugged him and placed her hands into his hair, stroking through it, tagging and playing with it. After a while she pushed him back a little earning a surprised look.

“My turn.”

Marinette flipped their position and now it was Chat lying underneath her. He looked at her astonishingly when she started to kiss him the same way he just kissed her – feverishly, eagerly, lovingly - leaving him breathless. No one ever expressed this much love and affection toward him and that alone forced him to love her more with every second, with every kiss. He was losing it very quickly. 

“Marinette… Marinette… Please… Marinette…”

The girl pulled back and looked at him taken aback a little. He was crimson red and was trying to catch his breath.

“Um, we… I … need to stop…a minute… please”

The girl giggled and kissed him one more time.

“As you wish, my prince.”

It took him a full ten minutes to get back to a normal condition but when he was ready Marinette already had a plan.

“We need to distribute these flowers around Paris, to every balcony we can find. This way they will make into the news tomorrow for sure and Alya will give up looking for me for now. Are you ready?”

He nodded and they started the work. First they took and carried away the flowers from her balcony as far away from her district as they could, placing a flower on each balcony they could find and then the flowers from her room were dispensed in a same manner. They worked separately in different districts to cover more area. When Chat came back for his last run he found Ladybug staring at the bouquet of yellow-red roses on her sewing table. He came over and looked at her questioningly.

“I can’t part with these, Chat. You said they remind you of me… But they remind me of us – friends who fell in love. I can’t part with those.”

He placed his arm on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to. It’s only one bouquet. Alya can’t accuse you of being a Ladybug because of one bouquet.”

“But I have to invite her over tomorrow so she can let go of her suspicions when she sees my flowerless room. What will I tell her?”

“Tell her that it’s from your secret admirer from the Valentine Day. And that will help us too. Later we will reveal that I was your secret admirer and that I was noticing you for while before we became a couple so it wouldn’t seem too sudden.”

Marinette looked at Adrien and wrapped her hands around him, snuggling to his chest.

“You know that I love you? I really do…”

“And I love you more, Princess…”  
____________________

Next morning was a lot better. For one, Marinette didn’t miss a call from Alya at 7 am.

“Did you see the news, Marinette? He distributed the flowers around Paris!!! That sly cat! And just when I was soooo close to figuring out their secret!!! I am so mad!!!”

Marinette smiled. That was a good start for a Monday. Her parents seemed to be happy as well. They looked all lovey-dovey at each other and barely noticed Marinette. She figured out that her newfound romance also had an influence on her folks. 

“Don’t forget to invite him for a dinner, Marinette. What was his name?”

“Adrien, dad. I will talk to him but I won’t promise that it will happen today and remember – this is a secret!”

“Of course. See you later, sweetie.”

School was awesome as awesome as school could be – no hard lessons, not a lot of homework and her new, secret boyfriend right in front of her with that chain still on his neck. They still needed to discuss a lot of questions such as when to let everyone know, how to ease their friends into the notion and what to do about that dinner invitation. Marinette loved her parents but she suspected that this dinner would go horribly wrong with her being embarrassed the whole evening because either her mother will show Adrien her naked baby photos or her dad will scrutinize him under a microscope seeking out the slightest flaw that would give him a permission to ban their relationship forever! Or Adrien will realize how weird her family is and will dump her! Or she will trip and spill some extremely hot water all over him causing horrible burns and ruining his model career! The possibilities of what could go wrong were endless …

“Marinette, are you coming?”

Adrien was staring at her. The girl looked around the classroom. Almost everyone left for lunch; Alya and Nino were standing at the door watching them with sly smirks on their faces while Adrien was trying to bring her out of trance. Way to go, Marinette! You are already ruining your relationship even without the help of your parents! Now, Adrien will totally think you are a weirdo! She looked apologetically at him and smiled nervously.

“Where?”

“To “Gustave’s”. We decided to go there for lunch. Are you coming? The guys are already gone.”

“Sorry, Adrien. I … was …distracted.”

Chat’s grin appeared on his lips and whispered even though everyone, including Alya and Nino, was already gone.

“Did you daydream about your hot date for a prom? Or maybe about someone who kissed you yesterday? Or the day before that? Because if you want he is willing to refresh your memories at the first given opportunity.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and whispered back.

“Hold it, kitty. You need to survive a dinner with my parents some time this week and earn their approval first.”

Adrien improvised his best-terrified look.

“Oh, no! How will I ever do that? That is impossible! I am doomed.”

They both laughed and left to catch up with Alya and Nino. Just as they exited school Adrien looked at Marinette with a slight worry in his eyes.

“Are you serious about it? A dinner? And an approval process?”

“Aha. My dad said you have to come this week. He has to approve you, but I wouldn’t worry if I were you. You are naturally charming and they loved you yesterday. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

Her smile gave him a bit of reassurance. He already met her parents once and they seemed pretty cool and nice but he introduced himself as a friend then. Will they react differently if he were to come as her boyfriend? The only experience of being “approved” by a father he had wasn’t a pleasant one. His father never really was satisfied with Adrien. There always was something that he could do better or should stay away from. Mindlessly following Marinette, he started to dread that dinner already.


	12. Everything was perfect until...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! I am really sorry for such a long hiatus - I was sucked into Unexpected Surprise suddenly - but I am back and will work on this till the end. As always expect an update approximately once a week and I hope you enjoy this. :)

Their first week of school as a secret couple was relatively peaceful and normal. Marinette didn’t have to behave any differently than she usually did – everyone was accustomed to her silent stares and pinning after Adrien. The boy, however, had to work hard to keep himself in check - to resist hugging her the minute she walked in the classroom or to kiss her at least on a cheek when she said hello or even to hold her hand when she was close. For Adrien the week was long and hard and the worst part was that despite all of his best efforts practically all of their classmates noticed that he blushed when she smiled at him, that he never took his eyes off her while she walked to her desk and that he stopped writing notes when she was in front of the classroom either helping out or giving a presentation. Everyone noticed but no one said anything, silently rooting for their sweet Chinese classmate who as it seemed finally caught the eye of her long time crush.

 

“About the time it happened, don’t you think so, Rose? It would’ve been harder after graduation.”

 

“I agree, Alix. Marinette deserves such a sweet guy like Adrien and he obviously needs someone as lovely as her. I am so glad that Chloe didn’t her hands on him first.”

 

Everyone agreed on this and tried not to interfere, tried to give them their space and allow for what they considered to be a newly formed love to bloom.

 

But outside the school they were almost inseparable… when they could. Adrien had his modeling to do and Marinette had her responsibilities in a bakery and her sewing projects for the fashion school’s portfolio during the lighter part of the day but when the sun went down Ladybug and Chat Noir were racing through the roofs of Paris making sure the city was safe, battling akumas from time to time but mostly cuddling on some random roof away from everyone’s eyes.

 

Yes, their first week of school as a secret couple was going really well... That is until Thursday came.

_____________________________

 

The dinner, that Adrien was so terrified of, was planned for a Saturday night. It was one of the rare nights when Adrien didn’t have a photo shoot scheduled and, because his father was away for a weekend trip, he was free to do what he pleased. In addition he had a whole five full days to prepare on how to impress Marinette’s parents.

 

It was a completely new realm for him. Adrien really wanted to impress Tom and Sabine but he wasn’t sure what they were looking in Marinette’s potential boyfriend. He was almost sure that his impeccable small talk skills won’t help him much; his good looks and grades were probably not the best way to prove his worth of being her boyfriend. He was good at fencing? He spoke fluent Chinese? Should he mention that he could play piano really well? Promising model career? His love of physics? What??? What will impress them? What will help him to earn her father’s approval?

 

The closer the faithful day approached, more and more nervous and distracted the boy became. It got to a point where even Nino noticed his unusually anxious state.

 

“Dude, you are fine? You look sick, Adrien. You should really rest more and work less.”

 

He threw a tired look at his best buddy, sighed and carefully lowered his head onto his desk again, trying to avoid attracting the teacher’s attention.

 

“If only that was the only problem in my life, Nino.”

 

DJ smirked knowingly but didn’t respond noticing in time Mrs. Mendeleev’s glance at them.

 

The rest of the lesson Adrien spent trying to take notes, which proved to be extremely hard when you are torn between your school responsibilities and your teenage hormones. Somehow, Adrien was sure that only Marinette’s kiss could help him stop worrying but she sat a whole row behind him and there were other people in the classroom who didn’t exactly knew they were dating and he should probably mention also that the lesson wasn’t finished yet…

 

The sound of a bell announcing a break for lunch brought some relieve to his stressed state of mind. All he needed to do now was to sneak away from Nino, just as he frequently did all of the last week, and meet Marinette somewhere on a roof. He was responsible for providing drinks and she always brought her father’s treats for them. How in the world Nino and Alya didn’t suspect anything so far was beyond his comprehension.

 

The boys were walking toward a locker room to leave some of their stuff there before a lunch when Nino suddenly asked:

 

“Hey Adrien. Did you invite anyone to a prom yet?”

 

Ah, the prom! That was one event he was really looking forward to. Marinette and him agreed that they would come out to their friends about being a couple at the prom and Adrien honestly couldn’t wait for it to happen, despite there being some “issues” he needed to deal with first.

 

Proms are rare occasions in French schools but their school had one this year thanks to Chloe who was recently so obsessed with all those American teenage, romantic dramas that she pursued the principal without any troubles to let them have a prom. In addition, she was the one responsible for organization so everyone expected nothing less than a grand, extravagant affair that the mayor’s daughter would have deemed to be worth attending. There was only a slight, minor detail that bothered the blond model. Everyone knew that Chloe didn’t have a date yet and Adrien felt a target on his back stronger and stronger every day. So far, he managed to avoid the awkwardness by simply escaping whenever the girl was within ten feet of him but the boy knew that he wouldn’t be this lucky forever.

 

“Ah, no. Not yet, Nino. Did you?”

 

Nino shifted his legs.

 

“I want to invite Alya but I need your help with it, bro. Advice, if you can. You know how she always avoids talking of anything remotely involving us being involved together, as a couple I mean. I need somehow make her listen to me till the end for once without her changing the subject as soon as our conversation starts to head into that direction. Any ideas?”

 

Adrien sighed. He surely could ask Marinette, Alya was her best friend after all.

 

“Let me think about it. I’ll need to get away for a lunch but I promise to give it a good thought and we’ll talk when I’ll come back.”

 

“Again, Adrien! Where to are you sneaking away all the time? Anything you want to tell me?”

 

Before Adrien could reply, he felt someone tapping his shoulder. Turning around he groaned internally recognizing the girls behind him.

 

“Adrinkins! I know that you are probably still gathering your courage to ask me out but I can’t wait any longer! I accept! We’ll be the best looking couple at the prom. Pick me up at 4 pm. And I expect you to drop by my house next week so we can chose matching outfits.”

 

Nino and a couple of other their classmates around the room, including Alya and Marinette who just walked in, looked sympathetically at terrified Adrien. The boy stood silently for a minute, his mind going hundred miles per hour in a desperate attempt to find a way out of this “invitation”. Finally he responded:

 

“Ah, Chloe… I am really sorry, but… I already have a date… with…” – he looked around franticly, looking for the least painful way to let Chloe down. “With… Nino, Alya and Marinette! Yes! We are going together as a group.”

 

He grinned at dumb folded Nino who matched in his astonishment only to Alya standing behind Chloe’s back. Marinette smiled and looked like she was actually enjoying the moment, biting her lower lip with excitement of what will happen next.

 

Chloe blinked. She blinked again… and again. Then she stared questioningly at Nino who was still very obviously lost in what was going on until Adrien haven’t pushed him a little with his elbow and whispered, grin never leaving his face.

 

“Nino, we are going together with Alya and Marinette to the prom, right? Tell Chloe, bro.”

 

“Going with Alya” – all that Nino managed to murmured at the moment, still spacing out, when he suddenly saw the red haired girl pushed ahead from behind Sabrina and standing in front of the blond girl.

 

“Yes, we are all going together, Chloe! We’ve been planning this for weeks now so it’ll too late to change anything. Is that a problem?”

 

Chloe narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists as she screeched through her teeth.

 

“You’ll be sorry about that… I promise you that.”

 

She turned around rapidly and almost collided with standing behind her smiling Marinette. Her eyes narrowed even more as she observed her classmate for some time.

 

“It’s your fault, Marinette! Don’t you think I didn’t see the googlie eyes you are making at my Adrinkins?! Or your crooked grins that you are giving him! I’ll make you pay for it. You’ll see.”

 

She wasn’t screaming as usually. Her voice was cold and calculating – it sent shivers down everyone’s spines, except Marinette, who continue to be relaxed. She wasn’t afraid of Chloe’s threats – she fought akumas on a regular basis – what could Chloe do to top off Hawkmoth’s akumas? If anything, she wasn’t planning to see the girl ever again after their graduation, which was fast approaching and was only a mere week away.

 

“Think what you please, Chloe. You have a right for imagination.”

 

The blond stormed out of the room followed by Sabrina when Alya turned to Adrien.

 

“What was that about?”

 

He shrugged and smiled apologetically.

 

“I’m sorry, guys, but I really didn’t want to go with her. And if you don’t have dates yet, maybe we should go together? It could be fun.”

 

Alya looked at Nino. Then her sight turned to excited Marinette.

 

“Well, I don’t see a problem with that. Nino?”

 

Nino grinned as if coming out of a dream.

 

“Me? I… I won’t protest… No. Definitely, won’t protest…”

 

Adrien looked at Marinette, giving her an almost invisible wink.

 

“What about you, Pr… Marinette?”

 

She blushed slightly at his almost slip.

 

“I’m fine with it too. Should we make the arrangements?”

 

The rest of the lunchtime the group spent planning their prom “group date”. They decided to have Adrien’s limo to pick everyone up and drive to the prom together. But whatever happens next, everyone agreed not to plan in everyone’s best, secret interests. Both pairs were already planning how to lose the other two at the party for at least a couple of dances…

 

“Thanks, bro” – Nino hugged Adrien’s shoulder as they were walking back to the class, being expulsed by the girls for the rest of the discussion involving their dresses, which were supposed to be a surprise for the boys.

 

“No problem, Nino. I can also make sure you have some time alone with Alya there. How does it sound?’

 

Nino smirked.

 

“Are you sure you are not just trying to get Marinette all to yourself for a while? Chloe was right, you know. Everyone noticed your changed attitude towards her. All those glances, staring and sighs… You are horrible at hiding them. And don’t tell me again that you are being overworked. I think it’s a certain girl who has been keeping you up on your toes recently, not your schedule. Just admit it, Adrien.”

 

Adrien smiled. It was a good start to get Nino warm up to the idea of him dating Marinette so he didn’t protest.

 

“Alright, I admit. She is cute though. Wouldn’t you agree, Nino? You did had a crush on her a while ago too so don’t you judge me.”

 

Nino grinned widely.

 

“Oh, I am not judging you, bro. I just want to warn you that you have a competition. First of all there is Nathaniel and also Alya told me that Mari has a new secret admirer. He sent her flowers for Valentine’s and she really liked them. Just a warning, man…”

 

Nino stopped his speech when he saw a suddenly flustered face of his best buddy. His eyes grew in immediate realization as he took Adrien by his shoulders and demanded:

 

“Are you her secret admirer? Oh my gosh, Adrien! How long was this going on? Why didn’t you tell me? Does she know it’s you? Have you asked her out yet? Man, I have so many questions!!!”

 

Adrien grinned at overly excited Nino and after freeing himself from his bear grip continued, trying to make up a convincing story on the run.

 

“Well, I’ve liked her for a while now, but I wanted to be absolutely sure before acting on anything. I don’t think she knows that it was me who sent her the flowers but I might have “accidentally” run into her during a couple of lunches this week…”

 

Nino winced and gave the boy a brotherly hug again.

 

“Ah, that’s why you were bailing on me all week. So what’s the plan, man?”

 

“I’ll ask her out at the prom and hope that she’ll accept. That’s all. Do you think she will?”

 

Nino laughed out loud and bumped Adrien’s shoulder with a fist.

 

“You either pulling my leg here, Adrien or you are as oblivious as we all think you are!”

________________________________________

Friday was supposed to be better. Adrien gave himself a little bit more freedom and was openly admiring Marinette at all possible opportunities. He even went as far as to lightly flirt with her in front of their respected friends at their shared lunch, which made the girl blush and her female friend to smirk at him. Nino kept quiet - he was in his own little word observing Alya and planning how to blow her away at the prom.

 

Everything went well and Adrien would even say perfect… That is until Nathaniel happened.

 

“Hi, Marinette.”

 

Adrien’s ears perked up at the red-haired boy’s voice behind his back.

 

**_What does he want from MY Marinette?_ **

 

“Hi Nathaniel. How are you?”

 

“I’m fine. Agh, I… I wanted to ask you for a favor… I mean… if you can… and want.”

 

**_A favor??? Why would he need a favor from MY Marinette? He can perfectly do everything himself!_ **

****

“It depends on what you want, Nath. Tell me and I’ll see what I can do”

 

**_Oh, so now he is Nath? Why is she so familiar all of the sudden?_ **

****

“You see, I was assigned to draw some pictures for the prom, more like a memorabilia of our class. I have one great idea but I need a help of a fashion designer with creating some outfits to use in my pictures. And since you like fashion the most out of all of us here I thought that you’d be the perfect person to help me out… If you can and want.”

 

**_Of course, he’ll make her help him! He said fashion and creating outfits in one sentence. There is no way Marinette will refuse. Smart guy, this Nath._ **

****

“Oh, this is so exciting, Nathaniel! Of course I’ll help you. I’d really-really love to do it. Let’s see, I’ll be busy this Saturday and since next week we have a final exam on Friday I think we should meet either on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Anything later won’t work because we need to study. How about it?”

 

**_NO!!!! I was planning a surprise date for Sunday! Marinette! Don’t!_ **

****

“Sunday sounds perfect, Marinette. Where should we meet? A library or a café?

 

**_This is getting ridiculous! He practically is inviting MY girlfriend on a date behind my back! Literally!_ **

****

By this moment Adrien’s patience flew on a vacation and his knuckles went white from the amount of pressure he was using clenching his fists. He turned around before Marinette could reply.

 

“Um, I am sorry to eavesdrop but I overheard a bit about the Sunday and I just wanted to mention that Nino and I were planning to go tuxedo shopping for the prom this Sunday and we really need Alya and you to go with us.”

 

Marinette’s face became surprised, especially when she looked over to even more confused Nino who clearly had no clue what was going on and where they already planned to go according to his blond friend.

 

“Why would you need us, Adrien? And why would you need to go tux shopping? You have a store worth of suits in your closet.”

 

Adrien didn’t give up. He smiled dashingly and unleashed his cute eyes.

 

“I maybe do, but Nino don’t. And we need you to help us chose something that will go with your dresses since you, girls, are refusing to show them to us.”

 

Marinette sighed and turned to confused Nathaniel.

 

“Ok, so what about Monday?”

 

The boy nodded but before he could respond Adrien fired.

 

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you this before, Marinette, but on Monday my father wanted to see you. Something about your last design that won the competition. I think he wanted to feature a variation of it in his collection this fall or something.”

 

The boy didn’t exactly lie – his father did express a possibility but whenever he decided to act on it Adrien didn’t know. In addition, Gabriel was scheduled to come back only on Tuesday morning so that would be problematic as well, but Adrien didn’t care right now how he will get out of this, he’ll think about it later…

 

Marinette’s eyes grew big.

 

“Really?”

 

Adrien grinned.

 

“Would I ever lie to you about something like that?”

 

The girl turned to even more confused Nathaniel.

 

“Sorry Nathaniel. That leaves only Tuesday…”

 

This time the poor boy didn’t even had time to make any movements before they heard Adrien’s voice again.

 

“I am really sorry to spoil a surprise but Alya told me that she planned a girl’s day out for you two for Tuesday. I wasn’t supposed to tell but she’ll be very disappointed if you won’t come, especially because she already paid for the spa…”

 

Marinette looked at Adrien closely narrowing her eyes. If she didn’t know better she would say that he was lying plain and simple! Alya hated spas! If anything she’ll plan a day out at an amusement park or some mystery murder party but not a spa! And why would Alya share her plans with Adrien? The red head was absent at the moment so Marinette couldn’t ask her. Instead, she looked closer at Adrien spotting a light blush on his face and a glimpse of something in his eyes when it hit her – he was lying because he was jealous! Adrien Agreste was jealous of her because of Nathaniel and was making up excuses to prevent her from helping their classmate. The girl felt extremely flattered all of the sudden but she also felt anger – his jealousy wasn’t an excuse to deny help, especially if it meant to do something that she really enjoyed…

 

“I am sorry, Adrien, but Alya already told me about that day out and we agreed that we’ll do it after the prom when we’ll have more free time. Thanks for spoiling the surprise thought.”

 

She winked at him and turned back to Nathaniel.

 

“I am free on Tuesday. Where do you want to meet?”

 

Adrien’s face went pale – she caught him. She knew he was lying. Damn! What will he do now? He turned around and tried to think hard when he heard:

 

“I though either a library or some quiet café in the area. Where would you prefer, Marinette?”

 

**_Of course, she’ll say café, since you can’t talk in a library, you idiot! And then you’ll treat her to a cup of coffee and before you know it – it’s a date!”_ **

****

“Well, we can’t really talk in a library and any café I know around here is too loud to really concentrate. How about my house? We can work in my room and later have lunch downstairs at our bakery?

 

**_AGHTKJHASDHGQKJLS:KQHW:? WHAT?_ **

****

Adrien almost choked on a plain air.

 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Marinette? Will your parents be alright with me coming over?”

 

“You are absolutely right, Nathaniel. That is not a good idea. Marinette’s room is small and full of sewing stuff, you know, needles and pins everywhere… You wouldn’t want to sit on one of them, now would you?”

 

Marinette gasped at the blond who was back again in their conversation but before she could say anything he continued.

 

“And her parents are very busy at the bakery, wouldn’t want to distract them, wouldn’t you?”

 

Marinette’s face went crimson. She’ll kill that jealous, stupid cat!!! She opened her mouth but was interrupted again.

 

“Why don’t you come to my house instead? I have a huge room and I also know a lot about fashion. I can help you too. And we can also call Alya and Nino and have an arcade games tournament after we are done. We’ll have much more fun in my house than in Marinette’s small room. I know you wanted only Marinette to help you but don’t you think the five of us will do a much better job?”

 

He stared at Nathaniel trying to avoid Marinette’s glare. The boy whose face color now matched his hair nodded.

 

“Alright, Adrien. That sounds like a good idea. Tuesday at your house after school. Thanks, guys.”

 

The artist turned around and run for his life to his place. By now everyone in class knew that the blond model had his eye on Marinette and Nathaniel realized exactly what was going on here. However, the boy suspected that Adrien didn’t know that he got over his crush on Marinette a short time after the Evilustrator incident but being the sweet person he was he didn’t want to cause any trouble for Marinette. He’ll try to keep his distance until Adrien learns to control his jealousy and won’t ruin their possible relationship.

 

As the final bell of the day rung, Adrien started to gather his belongings. He felt that he probably overstepped a little with Nathaniel by the way Marinette was behaving the rest of the day so he decided to apologies right after school. However, before he could even put his first book into the bag, Marinette zoomed past him and disappeared into the hallway. He looked in confusion at her disappearing figure and was about to follow when felt Nino’s hand on his shoulder.

 

“I think you need to let her cool off, Adrien.”

 

Right. And he does also have this photo shoot to make today right after the school, which means Adrien didn’t have enough time for a proper conversation anyway. Adrien gathered his things and silently followed Nino out of class and straight into his limo.

 

“See you, Monday, bro?”

 

“Yeah. See you, Nino.”

 

The boy was finally free at around 11 pm. He contemplated on texting or calling Marinette but decided that it was better to speak to her in person. So as soon as Adrien was able, he transformed and sprinted through the roofs towards her house. It was dark. All of the lights were out which meant that everyone must be asleep. He picked into now familiar windows but Marinette wasn’t there. Adrien looked around and run – he knew she must be somewhere out there and he was going to find her.

__________________________________________

 

“You are overthinking it, Marinette. Are you really that angry with him?”

 

Unusually quiet girl was sitting on one of the roofs overlooking sparkling Seine in all it’s glorious, sparkling, night beauty. She finished her patrol but didn’t want to go home yet. She needed time to be alone and to think. Adrien acted out of jealousy – she understood that but she was wondering if it always would be like this from now on? Will she be able to have male friends without Adrien’s jealous tantrums? Male acquaintances? Wasn’t it a little overboard? Didn’t he trust her?

 

“I’m not really angry at him, Tikki. Just disappointed a bit. That’s all. Didn’t expect him to get so jealous so easily. Poor Nathaniel. He was so embarrassed…”

 

Marinette was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t notice how Chat Noir appeared on the same roof. He quietly sat on his knees behind her and wrapped his arms around the girl, pressing her tightly to his chest, burying his head in her neck.

 

“I’m sorry” – he murmured and lifted one hand to her eye level, revealing a small, transparent package filled with chocolate-covered strawberries. “Please, forgive me.”

 

Marinette sighed.

 

“You don’t trust me, Adrien?”

 

He lifted his head a little but didn’t remove it from her neck.

 

“Of course, I do, Princess. I just don’t like the idea of other guys asking you on a date.”

 

“It wasn’t a date, Chat, and you know it.”

 

“It sounded like one. But I am sorry. I know I overreacted. Please?”

 

His hand was still in front of her – his peace offering right in front her eyes. Marinette smiled lightly and took the package.

 

“You’ll have to work on it, Adrien.”

 

The boy murmured into her neck:

 

“I’m sure it’ll get easier once I’ll become an official boyfriend. They wouldn’t DARE then to ask MY Lady on a date…”

 

Marinette turned around sharply, facing Chat, staring accusingly into his eyes.

 

“Adrien.”

 

He smiled nervously.

 

“I’ll work on it, Princess.”

 

The girl giggled and sighed.

 

“What am I going to do with you, kitty?”

 

He grinned and leaned over until his face stopped right in front of hers.

 

“Love me.”

 

The girl blushed and smiled. She leaned even closer and kissed him softly.

 

“You know that I do, silly. More than you deserve, kitty cat.”

 

He smiled wishfully into her kiss.

 

“Even when I am unreasonably jealous?”

 

“Even then.”

 

They stayed up on a roof for another hour – a sitting boy leaning on a chimney and a girl settled in his lap – talking and laughing, exchanging random smooches, discussing their future prom date and their plans for the future. Everything was going perfectly as perfect as could be. That is until the girl said:

 

“Well, we’d better go, kitty. You will need your beauty sleep to impress my dad tomorrow. Are you ready?”

 

The boy nervously grinned:

 

“No, but it won’t change anything, will it?”

 

Marinette laughed.

 

“See you tomorrow, Adrien.”

 

A second later she transformed and was gone leaving one anxious, black leather-clad cat boy behind nervously scratching his neck.

 

“If we’ll survive tomorrow, Plagg, we’ll be able to survive anything Hawkmoth sends our way.”

 

The kwammi smirked into his ear and replied:

 

“I am sure, we’ll be fine, Adrien. Don’t worry about it so much. They are only the loving parents of a girl you kiss and hug every day. What can go wrong?”

__________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? Hope you like this chapter :) Any suggestions are very welcome and if you didn't read Unexpected Surprise yet - treat yourself to a rollercoaster of feels and tears :) Till the next time :D


	13. Meet the parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dinner at the Dupain-Chengs and a surprise at the end... :D

Saturday came faster than Adrien would wanted or expected. He still didn’t exactly figure out how to impress Marinette’s parents but remembering his last visit just a week ago the boy decided to trust his secret girlfriend and try to relax a little. They seemed to be a nice couple of people – enough for him to think that maybe, just maybe, to earn her father’s approval won’t be as hard as he had to work for his own.

 

By five o’clock in the evening the boy was standing at the bakery’s door nervously holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of the best chocolate money could buy for Marinette’s mother and a bottle of ridiculously expensive wine for her father. After a couple of minutes of hesitation he carefully opened the door and suddenly found himself being embraced by someone very familiar – his lovely Princess wrapped her arms around his shoulders just before she gave him a sweet kiss on a cheek.

 

“Hi, Adrien.” – she smiled softly.

 

“Hi, Marinette…”

 

The boy’s eyes sparkled and he smiled gently but the girl could feel how tense his body was, she couldn’t miss how nervous he looked and how shaky his voice became.

 

“Don’t worry, Adrien. Everything will be alright. I promise. They are waiting upstairs for their victims. We should go there before dad comes down here to check on us.”

 

Marinette giggled and dragged now a little more than scared boy upstairs to their apartment. Just before opening the door, she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on a cheek again.

 

“You’ll be fine, kitty. Just be yourself and they’ll love you. They already do, I overheard them discussing it yesterday so this is only a formality.”

 

Adrien chuckled.

 

“Of course, only a formality… Then let’s get it over with, Princess.”

 

The first thing he saw when they entered the dinning/living room was her unusually big father sitting behind the table with some papers in front of him. Sabine was quietly doing something in a kitchen and neither of them heard the pair come in. Marinette cleared her throat to announce their arrival and Tom’s head sprung up immediately. His face looked serious and concerned as he stood up and walked over to them with a check board in his hands. Standing up close to the man made him look even bigger, stronger and suddenly Adrien felt tinier and more insignificant than usually.

 

“Good evening, sir.” – started Adrien nervously watching the giant.

 

“Good evening, Adrien.”

 

His voice was friendly but contained, definitely not as affectionate and friendly as earlier. Tom didn’t move but continued to watch the boy closely for a minute or two. After he, what looked like, appraised every detail of Adrien’s appearance, he wrote something on his check board. Then the man made a circle around confused Adrien, humming and murmuring something none of them could distinguish.

 

“Dad, you are freaking us out! Stop it.”

 

“Shush, Marinette. I’m almost done.”

 

He made one more circle before asking:

 

“What is your height and weight, Adrien?”

 

Startled boy answered absentmindedly and looked over to his “potential” girlfriend who only shrugged her shoulders not knowing herself what was going on. Meanwhile, Tom wrote some more stuff in his papers and announced:

 

“Good, in the department of looks you are deemed appropriate. You can come in, Adrien.”

 

Marinette’s jaw fell to the floor as she thought that maybe she just heard something wrong.

 

“Dad! You are not serious?”

 

Tom looked back and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Why not, Marinette? I have to make sure your boyfriend looks good. Your mom and I want our future grandchildren to be cute. Can you blame us for that?”

 

Both Marinette and Adrien turned crimson instantly but Tom only laughed.

 

“Come in and sit with me. I have only a couple of questions left.”

 

His furious daughter was about to protest when Adrien’s hand touched hers.

 

“That’s fine, Marinette. A couple of questions never hurt anyone.”

 

The girl sighed and yielded to his charming smile. The pair joined the man who watched them carefully at the served table in an awkward silence. In couple of minutes he took his check board again and continued:

 

“Are you healthy, Adrien? Any serious conditions in the family?”

 

“Come on, Dad… Please… We are not here for the questioning. What are you a CIA agent or something? KGB?”

 

Tom frowned and snapped back:

 

“Marinette, I think that as your father I have the right to be concerned about your future…”

 

He was still talking when Adrien noticed in a corner of his eye how his princess clenched her fists under the table. She was getting angry and the boy already saw how this evening could go sour very quickly. Adrien placed a hand on her fist softly away from anyone’s sight and said:

 

“That’s alright, Mari. I think your father is right to be concerned and that’s is not a hard question to answer anyway.”

 

An obviously upset girl was about to say something back but he stopped her again, turning back to visibly pleased Tom:

 

“I am generally healthy, sir. No serious health problems in my family but I can get a cold once or twice a year, which, I believe, is completely normal.”

 

Tom nodded and checked something of on his list.

 

“Good. Ok, let’s see – looks pass, health – pass. Ah! Do you have the financial means to support a girlfriend?”

 

Marinette looked mortified at this point but Adrien answered with a straight face still keeping his hand on Marinette’s under the table:

 

“I believe, I do, sir.”

 

The man nodded again, satisfied grin on his lips. For a second Adrien thought that he saw Tom’s smile quiver a little but even if it was it was quickly gone.

 

“Ok, I’ll take your word for it now but if I see my baby without a present on her birthday or Christmas I will ask you to prove that to me officially - something like a bank statement or your parent’s confirmation letter. And don’t forget to give her flowers often. I’d say at least once a week.”

 

Marinette stood up and stared at her parent in outrage.

 

“Dad, that’s embarrassing! Are you trying to get Adrien to dump me before we even started dating? Stop it or we are out of here!”

 

Tom stared back at her bewilderedly not even trying anymore to suppress his mischievous grin.

 

“But I only have to ask Adrien about his plans for a future and take his DNA sample…”

 

The girl stared at him back in shocking amazement:

 

“Are you serious? DNA sample?”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Either you stop or we are leaving!”

 

The father and daughter were now actively involved in a staring contest elevating tension levels in the room tremendously. After a couple of minutes of it aided by a few grimaces on both of their faces Tom sighed and threw his hands in the air.

 

“Alright, you win. No DNA sample, at least for now… However, there is one more thing I absolutely need him to do.”

 

Tom took one of his papers and placed it before Adrien.

 

“Just sign this and you are approved.”

 

Both teenagers looked at the paper instantly and started reading. Marinette immediately turned red when she saw what it was.

 

Contract

between Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng and ____________________

I, _________________________, promise to love and respect Marinette Dupain-Cheng while I am dating her and after (if) we break up.

I promise to give her all the necessary attention she wants in every area of her life and be available when she will need me.

I promise to take her on amazing dates and make sure she is always happy.

If we fight I promise to be the first one to say “Sorry”.

I promise to spoil her with presents and flowers.

If Tom or Sabine Dupain-Cheng will see Marinette Dupain-Cheng cry or be upset because of me and the matter is not solved within three days I give them a permission to find me and kick my ass, break my neck, send me abroad or in prison or kill me, depending on what I did.

I promise to inform Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s parents about any planned or unplanned changes in our relationship, such as break-up, engagement, wedding, moving-in together, pregnancy, etc. and accept appropriate consequences.

I promise to have her home by 10 p.m. every day except for the approved ahead cases in writing by Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng. For every hour late I agree to pay a fine of 500 Euros.

Signed on ____day of ____month of __________year.

Name________________________________”

 

“You’ll just knead to sign on a dotted line, Adrien.”

 

Adrien’s eyes widened and he raised his head to look at the man. Tom was smiling widely being very proud of something. A mischievous spark zoomed inside of his eyes as a sudden realization downed on Adrien. He relaxed and was about to speak when Marinette glanced back at her father and erupted:

 

“Dad, I am seriously disappointed in you! You promised not to embarrass me! This is ridiculous!”

 

A gentle tug on a shoulder stopped her. With her eyes full of tears she looked over at Adrien who grinned at her and winced.

 

“It sounds purr-fectly reasonable, Marinette. I will dough it.”

 

The girl gasped. Is he seriously going along with it AND using puns at the same time?

“Adrien, this is a cruel joke. You know it, right? Don’t sign anything.”

 

The boy smiled even wider looking unreasonably happy and turned back to Tom:

 

“Can I borrow a pen, sir? I’ll sign this contract with pleasure.”

 

The man’s eyes narrowed a little as he offered a pen to a now fully grinning boy trying hard to suppress his own and look serious.

 

“So you knead a pen, huh? Here you go.”

 

Adrien pulled the paper close and filled out the blank spaces before signing it and giving the copy back to Tom.

 

“So now I guess I’d butter treat your dough-ter right?”

 

Tom observed him for a second before the corners of his lips started to twitch again. The next thing everyone knew the giant suddenly erupted into uncontrollable laughs.

 

“You got me there, son! I can’t do this anymore. I give up! We are on a roll, Sabine! Come finally here and join us.”

 

His looking extremely happy, petite wife appeared from the kitchen carrying some kind of deliciously smelling dish. She giggled as her eyes sparkled.

 

“Finally! I’m sorry I wasn’t here before but there was no way I would be able to sit through this torture and keep a straight face.”

 

Tom hugged her lovingly.

 

“Yeh… She doughnut want to spoil my fun. Loaf you to death, my dear.”

 

The pair and Adrien laughed hard when suddenly an irritated voice of the fourth person in a room forced them to stop:

 

“What’s going on here? Mom, dad! Was this a joke? What’s with all the puns?”

 

Tom shrugged wiping away the happy tears from his eyes.

 

“Well, I had to scare him a little, didn’t I? I’m sorry, Adrien, but it’s not every day Marinette’s getting a new boyfriend and it’s definitely the once in a lifetime experience when your daughter brings home her very first one.”

 

Adrien smiled politely.

 

“You did a good job of terrifying me and Marinette, for that matter, sir. I’ll do my best to be a deserving boyfriend and live up to your expectations.”

 

Tom stood and walked over to the boy. He hugged him tightly by the shoulders and said gently:

 

“I’m sure you’ll be, son, but don’t worry about living up to anything of mine. You are making Marinette happy and that’s enough for us. She likes you for some reason… but, honestly, with your sense of humor and puns she’d be crazy not too!”

 

Both females rolled their eyes and groaned simultaneously causing males to laugh again.

 

The rest of the evening went pretty much well. Tom and Adrien mutually fell in love with each other’s puns, while Sabine couldn’t stop gushing about how polite and sweet Adrien was, who was very generous on compliments and appreciations. By the end of the diner it looked like Marinette’s parents were already planning their wedding and naming the first five grandchildren to much of the younger pair dismay and embarrassment.

 

Just as their evening was nearing the end, Adrien decided to insure his approval.

 

“So, just to be on a safe side, sir, you are not against us becoming an official couple? I just want to make sure that you’ll be fine with all the commotion that’ll follow.”

 

Tom laughed.

 

“It’s Tom for you, again, Adrien. Get used to it or I’ll call you Mister. And yes, please, go ahead and become an official thing - I won’t stop you. You are nice enough fellow. And what commotion are you talking about? Jealous rivals of yours?”

 

“Those too, but mostly press. They’re already following me much more than usual but when I’ll get a girlfriend, I’m assuming they’ll come here too.”

 

Both Tom and Sabine looked startled and surprise to hear that. They looked at each other and back to Adrien.

 

“And why would the press follow you exactly? I know you are a model but I didn’t know they care for that much unless you are at the top of that ladder.”

 

Just then Marinette realized that she have never actually mentioned to her parents who Adrien was by birth. She always called him just Adrien. They knew him as her classmate Adrien, a handsome model from her fashion magazines, and nothing more. She spoke before he could actually say anything.

 

“Um, dad, Adrien’s last name is Agreste. He is the son of Gabriel Agreste.”

 

Sabine gasped softly while Tom’s face remained just as confused as before.

 

“And that is important because?”

 

His wife pushed him a little.

 

“Because Gabriel Agreste is the best fashion designer in France, Tom, with all the consequences that follow that, most notably a lack of privacy. So Gabriel Agreste is really your father, Adrien?”

 

The boy sighed.

 

“Yes, he is.”

 

Tom watched the boy quietly processing the information and wondering why the mentioning of his own father would evoke such sadness in Adrien’s eyes. He sighed and spoke lively trying to lighten up the mood for the boy whom he already loved as his own.

 

“Well, that changes everything, Adrien.”

 

Marinette’s face went pale but before she could say anything Tom found the contract Adrien signed and placed it on a table again. The man took a pen, found a number “500” under the fine for coming home late section and added another “0” at the end.

 

“That’ll be only fair now, won’t it?”

 

And just like multiple times before the four of them erupted into laughs. Tom walked over and took Adrien by his shoulder.

 

“We don’t care who you are, Adrien, and what will happen in a future. All we care about, as I told you before, is that you make Marinette happy and I’m honestly honored to have such an amazing, young man as my daughter’s first and hopefully last boyfriend. Whatever happens next, just remember that you now have a home here too, where you always will be just as welcome as Marinette.”

 

“Thank you, Tom” – the boy spoke quietly hiding away his coming tears, melting into another bear hug of his new father-of-a-girlfriend.

_______________________________________

 

Later that night as Chat Noir and Ladybug were sharing another cozy-up session on a random roof of Paris, the super heroine had only one question for her partner:

 

“Why did you sign that thing, Adrien? You know you didn’t have to. It was just one of my dad’s lame jokes. You knew that, right?”

 

He pressed her closer to his chest and whispered.

 

“There was nothing in that contract that I wouldn’t do for you, my Lady. And I knew it was a joke before I signed.”

 

“How?”

 

“You dad made a pun…”

 

“And? He always makes them.”

 

Adrien smiled.

 

“I can’t explain it, Marinette, but when he said it, something clicked and I knew that he wasn’t serious but just having fun. At that moment I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to impress him.”

 

“Puns? Seriously?”

 

He smiled.

 

“But it worked, didn’t it?”

 

“It sure did. I can’t still believe it though. Now two most important males in my life both use those lame, annoying puns.”

 

Chat grinned.

 

“Doughnut lie Purr-incess! You loaf my puns. They are cat-astic!”

 

Marinette groaned.

 

“And now we have not only cat’s puns but baker’s too! Great! My life is just amazing!”

 

He leaned closer and whispered.

 

“No, it’s not just amazing, my Lady. It’s purr-fect.”

__________________________________

 

Sunday didn’t go as expected but still was equally great. First thing in the morning their planned shopping trip went bust after Nino refused to leave his house because he didn’t want or “need”, as he said, to buy a tux for one night. Both of the girls and Adrien tried to reason with him but nothing worked - DJ plainly refused and everyone suspected it wasn’t because he couldn’t afford one but more that he really didn’t plan to wear it ever again. After almost an hour of negotiations Nino finally agreed to borrow one of Adrien’s and the group happily left for the Agreste mansion.

 

Adrien had a lot of suits… much more than he would ever need. The boy smiled embarrassingly as he opened his special closet for the formal wear and let the girls roam inside for a perfect outfit for him and Nino. It only took about two hours, five different combinations for each of the boys, one critical to every detail fashion designer and one absolutely indifferent to the style and fabric flow journalist to finally make a decision but at the end the outfits were chosen and carefully put aside for boys to wear next Saturday.

 

“What should we do now, guys?” – asked almost asleep from boredom of everything that was going on Alya longing on Adrien’s sofa.

 

“If you are hungry we can go out for a lunch and maybe hang out after.” – proposed Adrien quickly.

 

On Sundays there was actually a chance of his father being at home earlier than usually if he didn’t have any runways which he didn’t have today and the boy didn’t want to risk running into him with his friends mostly because he didn’t really want them to see just how sad and broken their relationship was.

 

“Sounds nice.” – replied Marinette who somehow sensed the real reason for his desire to get out of mansion.

 

After having a late lunch in a nearby café, four friends decided to just take a simple walk in a park and visit a couple of boutiques on their way to look for some accessories Marinette still needed for her prom dresses project. The weather was amazing and they, splitting into two pairs, simply walked along the trail, taking in the beauty of the nature, talking about everything that came to mind.

 

“Maybe, I can hold your hand for a little, Mari. I think they are already used to me being in love with you.” – almost begged Adrien, softly smiling at the blushing girl in front of him.

 

Marinette smiled back and took his hand into his.

 

“Maybe you can, kitty. From what Alya told me in secret, they expect us to kiss at the prom. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a bet going on.”

 

Adrien moved closer and grinned.

 

“Let’s beat them to that!”

 

He leaned over suddenly, pulling the girl in, his hand on her waist and back, and kissed her slowly before Marinette could react. But once the sweet moment passed a blushing girl pushed him away playfully and glanced over at Alya and Nino who was thankfully walking ahead of them and seemed to miss their spontaneous act. Marinette fake frowned and pouted her pretty lips.

 

“Adrien, stop it. They are not ready for it yet.”

 

The pair giggled and continued to walk catching up to their friends.

 

In a few hours everything that was planned was done and the girls parted their way from their male friends. Marinette was able to find some nice accessories and was extremely eager to go home and sew them onto her dress. Unfortunately, Alya was coming with her. The girl promised to get back home right away to babysit her siblings for the evening giving her parents a chance for an impromptu date. She walked Marinette over to her bakery and just before running off quickly said:

 

“Thanks, Mari. You are the best friend ever!”

 

The girl looked back at her red-haired friend in confusion.

 

“What did I do this time to earn such a praise from you, Alya?”

 

The journalist grinned and stepped back a little so she could sprint as soon as she answered:

 

“Nino owns me 50 euros now thanks to you.”

 

Confusion must have appeared on Mari’s face to make Alya clarify her statement but it quickly changed into embarrassment as soon as the girl heard:

 

“We saw your little “secret”, girl. By the way, it didn’t look like your first kiss. You owe me an explanation later. Gotta run!”

 

Alya was gone, leaving a red faced Marinette at the door. She stared after her friend for a while but then smiled and went inside.

 

“Well, that went good. Wonder how Adrien is doing with Nino right now.” – she thought to herself already pulling her unfinished dress from the closet.

__________________________________________

 

As amazing as his weekend was, Adrien was scheduled back for another photo shoot on Monday. The worst part was that it was a group photo shoot and was scheduled to take longer than usual so he had to skip his school for it. The process was extremely irritating and exhausting, especially because not everything depended on him – if someone from their group screwed up a pose everyone suffered and had to redo everything.

 

By the end of the day Adrien was extremely tired but yet he still had to do another shoot by himself. Completely exhausted he stood at the podium, following the instructions of his photographer, when he saw her. She was just at the end of the room in a corner. The boy couldn’t see her face but he would recognize her anywhere – his Marinette.

 

What was she doing here? Probably came to visit him… Maybe she missed him already? Adrien’s heart started to do a little jumps and his face lit up with a happy smile at the sight of his oh so loved girlfriend. Suddenly he saw one of the other male models come closer to her and… kiss? … He just definitely **kissed** her. Not on a cheek and not politely. Adrien looked in astonishment and horror as Marinette hugged the other guy and… kissed him back? Even more passionately than he kissed her. No... He must be seeing things…

 

“Adrien!” – he heard a loud shout from his photographer as if in a trance.

 

His eyes shifted towards an irritated voice for a second but snapped back to Marinette instantly. She was gone… Adrien started franticly looking around the room, his heart pounding in his chest, refusing to believe what he just saw. Evidently panic mirrored on the blond model’s face strong enough for his photographer to give him a ten-minute break to calm himself down and to deal with what was bothering him so much because the camera needed Adrien to give a tired but seductive baby face but it looked like the boy wasn’t able to do it right now.

 

The moment he was let go, Adrien rushed towards the corner where he just saw his girlfriend making out with another boy only to find it empty. He opened a nearby door and saw THE GUY who kissed his Marinette walking from somewhere back into the room.

 

“Oh, hi, Adrien! You look… worried. Is something wrong?”

 

The blond model only stared at his rival mentally trying to rationalize this whole ordeal. It could not have been his Marinette! Lorenzo was a model himself, a bit older than Adrien, black hair and green eyes, tall and slim, extremely popular in ladies department. The only thing the man lacked was a famous, influential parent or a friend to secure his career but he made up for it by working harder than any other model Adrien knew. In a way he kind of respected this fellow and didn’t want to believe that he could just steal away the only person that truly loved him right now.

 

“Hi, Lorenzo. Nothing’s wrong. I just though I saw someone I knew but, I guess, I was wrong. What’s up with you?”

 

The black haired model grinned satisfactory.

 

“Oh, Everything is perfect, man. By the way, I’ll be crushing your prom, as it seems. My girlfriend just invited me…”

 

He couldn’t finish his sentence being interrupted by very surprised blubber.

 

“Your… girlfriend?”

 

The boy smiled.

 

“Well, we are still in an open relationship so I can’t really claim her as only my but yes, she is my girlfriend.”

 

Adrien blinked in confusion.

 

“An open relationship?”

Lorenzo sighed.

 

“Yeh, you know, it’s when we date but also we can date other people, no-strings-attached dating kind of thing. You know how it works, right? I am actually not seeing anyone else right now, but my girl does. I don’t know much about the guy though. She only told him that he is a handsome, rich idiot and she is thinking of dumping him soon.”

 

Startled Adrien continued to watch him closely trying to process everything he just heard.

 

“Anyway, she told me that she is going with a bunch of friends to her prom to help set up one of her female friend with her crush but, unfortunately, she’ll be stuck with some loser for the evening. However, I will come a bit later and she’ll dump him somewhere so we can have some fun of our own.” – at that point he winced at Adrien and smiled slyly. “And by fun I mean _that kind of fun._ ”

 

Adrien swallowed hard.

 

“Yeh, she said she wants me to be her first,” – continued Lorenzo, looking as an overly confident Casanova. “And, you know, if my Lady wants something, she will receive.”

 

By this moment Adrien’s head was spinning from all of the havoc inside of it as he was trying to convince himself that that was not his Princess. It couldn’t be his Marinette. Just to be sure he braved the next question.

 

“And what is the name of a lucky girl?”

 

Lorenzo looked at him with lovesick sparkles in his eyes.

 

“Wondering if you know her? You probably do since she is in your school and possibly even your class if you are going to the same prom. She was just here, I should’ve introduced you two, but she suddenly said that she needed to leave.”

 

“Name, please, Lorenzo” – almost screeched through his teeth now extremely nervous Adrien.

 

“Impatient, aren’t you. Alright. Marinette. Her name is Marinette.”

 

 

 


	14. One just can't get a break

The night was quiet and cold as Chat ran across the rooftops of Paris in a desperate attempt to escape… Northern wind was rushing through his disheveled hair, blowing away escaping tears from his eyes… His head was pounding from confusion and pain … His hurting heart was bleeding in disbelieve… 

“Marinette. Her name is Marinette.” – Lorenzo’s voice kept repeating again and again in his mind.

It couldn’t be his Marinette. Couldn’t be… Adrien refused to believe that it was his loyal Lady… She was just too pure and precious… The girl he was madly in love with would never cheat on anyone. Her heart was just too good and kind for it. She loved him… At least she told him that she did… But then… how many Marinettes were in his class? His school? … He clearly saw the girl in a corner of the room and she definitely looked like his Princess. Same hair, same style, her clothes, her body build, everything hers – he knew his Lady’s every curve and every detail of her appearance…

Adrien stopped for a moment completely out of breath, wiping away his stinging tears, looking into no particular direction - his eyesight was blurry anyway to distinguish anything around him. The dull pain in his heart became unbearable and a miserable boy wished for a moment that it would be better to just forget and disappear, to just stop existing… Anything was better than this… Was this all a play? Was she just playing with him until she could find a better man? Did the only person, who he thought loved him, turn up to be just like everyone else in his life? Just like his father…

No! She couldn’t be! It was not her!

Adrien lay down on rusty shielings of the roof and stared into the sparkling night sky, images of Marinette running through his head – her sweet smile was always so genuine, her gorgeous, blue eyes were too sincere for this world, her soft touches were so gentle and warm… His mind went back to their Valentine Day’s date… She was genuinely upset, he would even say devastated, when she thought he didn’t love her. Their kisses and embraces felt so right and honest… It couldn’t be her! Adrien refused to believe that the only person he truly loved and who loved him back could be just another cruel player.

“I think, I should talk to Marinette, Plagg. It’ll be better if I ask her about it than continue guessing on my own.” – he murmured quietly into the night.

“And what if that wasn’t her, Adrien?” – he heard back in his ear. “Your accusations will make her fell soooo amazing, not to mention that you promised her to control your jealousy.”

Chat sighed as he remembered Marinette’s last words from their “Nathaniel” conversation – 

“Jealousy can ruin even the strongest relationships, Adrien. We need to trust each other no matter what. Can you promise me to at least try?”

“Guess, I’ll just need to find a way to ask her without directly asking the question... I need to know if that was her, Plagg… I need to know…” – his throat tightened up again and the boy stopped talking, trying to avoid breaking down completely…  
________________________________________

The evening was quiet and perfect for finishing up her dress. Paris was safe for today - no akumas ramping up the city. Her heart, however, was still unsatisfied – she didn’t see Adrien the whole day. Marinette missed him crazy but understood that her boyfriend had also other responsibilities to fulfill besides his school and his secret girlfriend. To make up for his absence they did communicate through text messages almost constantly until just about after 7 p.m. when the messages suddenly stopped. Marinette didn’t mind – he was probably too busy and exhausted to continue and she had a secret of her own to attend so she didn’t initiate a new conversation.

The girl was almost finished with her sewing when Tikki let her know that Chat was trying to contact her. Marinette quickly transformed into Ladybug and answered the call. His gorgeous, bright eyes and a charming smile greeted her on the other end. There was no emergency as she momentary suspected - he was just wondering if his girlfriend was going out for a patrol and after hesitating a little Marinette decided to take a break from her project and unwind a little with her partner. She did miss him terribly.

Marinette noticed right away that something about him was different. He still smiled and flirted but his eyes were saddened and his smile was almost forced. In addition, for some unexplained reason Chat was eager to start their patrol right away instead of chatting a little as they usually did. After agreeing to come back to the spot later he escaped quickly leaving confused Marinette standing alone.

“Something’s wrong, Tikki. Something’s happened… He looks… heartbroken.”

“Let’s finish our route and then you two can talk.” – replied her loyal kwammi. Marinette nodded and yo-yoed herself away.   
_____________________________________________

“What am I thinking about what?”

The girl stared at him in shock and astonishment. They came back a while ago and were sitting on one of the roofs but not as close as usually and somehow Adrien didn’t rush to neither pull her onto his lap nor even give her a quick hug… or kiss. In fact, he acted rather strange today, somehow alien and distant, as if he was upset and disappointed... Marinette sensed the enormous amount of tension the boy was emitting and although, she didn’t understand what was going on, the girl decided to make the first move to lighten up his mood a little. She started telling Adrien all about her day, their school, what their friends spoke about and thought, everyone’s excitement for the graduation and the prom, when he suddenly interrupted her:

“What do you think about an open relationship kind of dating?”

Marinette stared back at him frozen in shock but Chat hid his eyes away. The girl swallowed hard, trying not to think that it was a hint of some kind, and answered:

“I think that if you love someone, Adrien, you should stick to that person and not look for anyone else but I understand that stuff happens and if you do fall in love with someone else while in a relationship, it’s only fair and better to tell the first person and part your ways in a possibly friendly way than to sneak around, cheating on both of them. In my opinion, if someone thinks that an open relationship is a good idea, it means that they are not fully committed to their partner and than their relationship isn’t worth starting in a first place.” 

He lifted his obviously very sad and tired but somewhat relieved eyes and looked at her faintly smiling.

“You really think so?”

Marinette could be wrong, but it looked like the tension in his body started to escape gradually as soon as she nodded but the girl was still confused and getting a little irritated that he would even think about it. 

“Why are you asking, Chat? Are you thinking…?”

She couldn’t finish before Adrien quickly replied:

“No! No way, my Lady! Don’t even think that I could think about anything like it. I was just wondering… why people would think that is a good idea. Today I happened to speak with one of the guys at my work and he mentioned that he is in an open relationship with some girl at our school so it got me thinking why would people go for it? It bound to hurt some of them if not all.”

The boy watched Marinette’s reaction closely as if trying to find even more prove in her expressions that the girl really meant the words she said earlier. He didn’t notice anything strange apart from something remotely reminding disappointment.

“Well, I think that his girlfriend doesn’t appreciate herself enough to wait for the guy who will commit wholly to her alone. But that is my opinion. Others have the right to think otherwise. Now, tell me, what’s really going on, Chat? You still didn’t hug me so far…”

Relieved Adrien moved closer right away and dragged her into his embrace, grinning.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I’m just a little bit more tired than usually. And maybe just a little confused from that conversation.”

The girl smiled and snuggled up closer to him, laying her head onto his chest and hugging him back. Adrien pressed her closer as tightly as he could and enjoyed the smell of her hair while thinking:

“It wasn’t her. It wasn’t my Marinette. This one is mine and only mine.”

After a couple of minutes of silence the boy finally continued:

“So, what did my princess do today after the school? Anything special?”

He could feel her muscles suddenly tense against his body as she smiled and replied:

“Oh, nothing special – I took a walk and the rest of the evening simply sewed trying to finish my dress.”

“Ah, the weather was nice today, wasn’t it? I bet your walk was amazing. Where did you go?”

Adrien didn’t mean to sound so nosy and persistent but somehow his question caused her to tense up even more before she replied with a voice he could only describe as nervous:

“Is it an interrogation, Chat?”

He shrugged and grinned:

“Want to keep a secret, my Lady?”

Marinette turned around and poked his nose with her index finger:

“No, I just want to teach you to trust me.”

Adrien smiled and gave up. He thought that maybe, for once, she was right and he needed to learn to trust her more but back in his mind the seed of doubt was already sowed. WHERE DID Marinette go that she didn’t want him to know and got so nervous and tensed only because he asked her?   
_________________________________________

On Tuesday just as agreed Nathaniel, Alya, Nino and Marinette all came to his house after the school to work on a school memorabilia for the prom. Adrien made sure to let Natalie know that his friends will be visiting for the school project so when they did come a late lunch was already expecting them. It was one of those really rare moments when Adrien didn’t eat at home alone. His dining room felt as a completely different space with all the voices, laughs, gasps and giggles. Even Nathaniel, who did feel as a fifth wheel for a while, started to enjoy their easy banter. 

After the lunch they all went up to Adrien’s room to work on a project. Nathaniel had the greatest idea to draw everyone in traditional French attire since “The Sun King” was the theme for this year’s prom thanks to Chloe and her love of everything over the top. He already had some sketches and pictures of all their classmates. The only thing that was still needed was the fashion and that’s where Marinette and Adrien came in. Both of them had an experience with clothes and while Marinette could provide some amazing, creative ideas, Adrien gave rather practical advices on what will and won’t work. Alya and Nino decided to not interfere but better wait for their after project party.

Still feeling a bit confused from yesterday’s event Adrien was a little bit reserved at first but as their work proceeded he was more and more assured that he could fully trust Marinette and shoveled his doubts far away. He watched her interact with Nathaniel and Nino and noticed that while the girl was very friendly with the boys there was definitely a difference of how she behaved with them and him. Her eyes were much more affectionate and sparkled profoundly when she looked at him and her smile was always sweeter and was accompanied by a light blush most of the time. Her voice was softer when she spoke to him and it felt as if she was saying between every word silent “I love you”. Yes, by the end of their meeting Adrien was back head over heels in love with no doubts whatsoever that there was another Marinette in their school who looked similar to his innocent, amazing girlfriend. He just didn’t meet her yet.

“That’s the last of them, Nathaniel.” – suddenly spoke Marinette, bringing Adrien out of his daydreaming. 

The red-haired artist excitedly nodded and started to gather his things.

“Yes, thank you, guys! They all look amazing! You were right, Adrien, we did a much better job together than I would’ve ever done or even with Marinette’s help alone.”

The girl smiled and gave Adrien a gentle nudge:

“See, we make a great team.”

The boy grinned back:

“We make an amazing team, Marinette.” – then he looked back at already packed artist. “Where are you going, Nath? I thought we planned to have a game competition after all of this. Stay. It’ll be fun.”

Nathaniel sighed. He would like to stay especially since Adrien obviously worked on his jealousy issues and was actually very nice to him but…

“I am sorry, but I can’t. Except these I still have a lot more thing to do and if I won’t start today I’ll never finish in time. Sorry, guys.”

No amount of begging stopped Nathaniel and after a couple of minutes Adrien went downstairs to walked him out of the mansion. When he came back to his room he found his three remaining friends already ready to play. It turned out that everyone agreed to play his dance arcade game mingled with Truth or Dare to make it interesting. Basically it went like this – Nino will compete with Adrien and whoever loses has to choose what he wants to do - truth or dare. Then it will be Alya’s and Marinette’s turn. Lastly two winners will compete so at the end there will be only one champion. 

“Sounds like fun,” – said Adrien. “But we cannot disturb either Natalie or my father so, please, choose your dares with that in mind.”

Everyone agreed and the game began… Let’s just say Nino tried really hard but since the game was in Adrien’s room since he can remember and add in a mix his Chat Noir’s agility skills… The DJ was damned from the start; he just didn’t know it yet. As the victory shout sounded Nino spoke:

“Fine, you win. I choose dare.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes and pounded – should he help his buddy with his crush or would it be too… Nah! Of course he should help him! 

“I dare you to kiss Alya.” 

The boy grinned observing the mentioned above people to blush and gasp in horror and Marinette to chuckle in amazement.

“That’s not fair, Adrien!” – exclaimed flustered Alya. “I didn’t lose and have to suffer too?” 

The girl caught herself just a bit too late but Nino’s eyes already went sad.

“I didn’t know you didn’t like me that much, Alya.”

The red-haired glared at Adrien and grabbing Nino’s hand dragged him to the other side of the room where they emotionally whispered something to each other for a couple of minutes before returning but when they did come back both were mischievously grinning.

“Just as you wish, Adrien.” – said Nino and leaning over to Alya kissed her cheek quickly. Before anyone could protest he added: “You never specified where I have to kiss her, didn’t you, Adrien?”

The blond sighed:

“Fine, that will count but next time I will specify, Nino.”

Alya and the DJ smirked together and exchanged secretive looks before red-haired girl announced that it was now hers and Marinette’s turn. The girls chose the song and started their competition and suddenly Nino was behaving rather strangely. He went over to Adrien and started to talk suspiciously loudly about his hopeless crush on Ladybug and oh, wait… didn’t he like Marinette too? Oh, no! Adrien thinks Marinette is cute… What will we do with him?... Maybe he should forget about the spotted heroine and just invite his classmate on a date… maybe he needs to kiss her instead of forcing his desires on his friends!!!

It was too obvious that Nino was trying to distract Marinette and make her lose the battle. Adrien had already wrestled Nino to the ground and was working his way towards covering his mouth with his hands but the boy would just not shut up, instead of shouting even louder. By the end of the game no one was really sure what distracted Marinette more – Nino’s shouting or the boy’s struggle on a floor – but that didn’t matter because the girl lost and since no one physically abstracted her, Marinette accepted defeat and chose dare.

“Go and change into Adrien’s PJs and stay in them until the end of our visit.”

The deeper shade of red Marinette’s face turned the more proud Alya looked. She motioned towards boy’s closet and added:

“You have 5 minutes and Adrien can help you choose. If you wait any longer I’ll tell him to actually help you change.”

The black-haired girl continued to stare death at her grinning friend for a couple more minutes as she was telepathically trying to communicate to her that their friendship is over when Adrien nudged her hand.

“Let’s go, I’ll show you where they are. You don’t want to me to actually change you, do you? ”

In a couple of more minutes the blond model with pleasure observed his girlfriend emerge from his bathroom wearing his clothes – a simple white T-shirt and his dark blue PJ pants a bit too long for her but still – Adrien definitely liked what he saw and mentally already thanked Alya for her choice... and maybe he even thanked Nino for distracting Marinette with his silly tactics… until he realized that it was his turn again.

“Don’t be scared Adrien, I have a good punishment for you too.” – smiled slyly Alya as she prepared herself for an epic battle.

“Well, your tactic won’t work on me, Alya. Prepare to lose!”

Journalist winced and the music began. The first couple of minutes were intense. Adrien was good but Alya wasn’t bad herself. She was barely behind him and was threating to break forth any moment. The tension in a room was unbelievable when suddenly Adrien heard behind his back:

“Marinette, your pants are falling off, let me help you to tie them up.”

Pants… falling off… wait a minute! Nino!

Adrien turned back just for a second and just to make sure it was another of Nino’s distractions and not an actual pants-falling-off situation but that was one of the last seconds of the game and his careless move gave Alya everything she needed to snatch the victory right under his nose. The pants wasn’t falling off by the way…

“Well, what do you choose, Adrien?”

The boy looked at evilly smiling Alya and, already imagining a couple of cruel things she could do to him, decided to go the safer route as he murmured:

“I choose truth.”

“Perfect.”

That was not what he hoped to hear back but it was still probably better than anything that could’ve follow his dare request. Alya asked everyone to sit in a circle on a floor and when everyone settled in innocently asked:

“So, tell me, Adrien, when did you first kiss Marinette?”

The boy went crimson. He swallowed and looked at Marinette who was just as equally red as him. He swallowed again staring back at Alya.

“And before you decide to lie and tell me that it was last Sunday when we walked in a park, I’ll warn you to think again. We saw you two, right Nino?” – the boy in question nodded sighing sadly remembering that it cost him 50 euros and that’s why he never discussed it with Adrien before Alya continued. “And let me tell you that it was NOT your first kiss!”

“But you can’t prove that, can you, Alya?” 

It was Adrien’s turn to be smug but Alya wasn’t going to have any of it.

“I can, actually. Let me explain it to you clearer, Adrien. Take a look at the exhibit number one.” She pointed out Marinette. “The girl you kissed didn’t fell unconsciousness when you touched her, she didn’t freeze in place or ran away, which means she was comfortable with what was going on. Now, Nino, describe to me how exhibit number one behaves around Adrien in school.”

Nino didn’t make them wait when he shot:

“She stutters, melts, blushes and usually runs away when Adrien comes close to her. Plus she stalks and ogles at him constantly.”

Ignoring furiously blushing Marinette Alya continued:

“Marinette’s perfectly calm and humanly normal behavior on Sunday can be explained only by the fact that you too have done it before. That’s why she was comfortable and didn’t exhibit her usual “Adrien Agreste” reaction. It was NOT her first kiss. Now, let me proceed to the exhibit number two.” Alya pointed out Adrien this time. “We all know that you, Adrien Agreste, hopeless romantic and it would be obviously expected that for your first real kiss you’ll plan a grand affair or at least something more intimate than a stroll in a park with two nosy friends in tow. In fact, it looked more like you were playing around with the exhibit number one than actually romantically kissing her, which leads me to believe that it was NOT your first kiss either. Prove me wrong if you can, Agreste.” 

The girl stared at a blushing blond with such determination in her whole body that it was evident to everyone - fighting back was pointless. Adrien sighed and looked over at Marinette. She sighed too and nodded in an apparent defeat giving him a permission to release the confidential information. His answer was short and to the point.

“Friday before the Valentine Day.”

Both, Marinette and Adrien now watched in amazement as shocked Nino and Alya went pale, then red, then pale again while trying to understand if they’ve heard correctly his response. It looked like they were trying to say something though no words left their lips. After a couple of minutes Alya was the first one to come to her senses:

“Almost two weeks?????? Marinette!!!! Two weeks and you DIDN’T tell me anything?????”

The embarrassed girl smiled shyly and shrouded her shoulders:

“Surprise?” 

“Surprise???!!!! Are you crazy??? That’s how you are thanking me for all the years of loyal help with that crush of yours??? Surprise???”

Furious Alya was about to get up when Adrien caught her hand.

“Hey, Alya, don’t be so harsh on Marinette. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t tell you. I asked her to keep it a secret for a couple of weeks.”

The journalist glared back at him.

“And why would you want to keep it a secret, Adrien? Are you ashamed of my girl?”

The boy shook his head.

“Of course, not. If I would, why would I be dating her?”

“So you are not just kissing her, you are also dating her?” – repeated mindlessly Alya.

“Well, yes. Why would I kiss anyone if I didn’t want to date her?”

Alya continued to stare him down.

“So why did you wanted to keep it a secret, Agreste?”

Adrien was franticly trying to find an answer. When he spontaneously chose to defend Marinette he didn’t think about all the details. Finally, the boy decided to go the most honest way he could afford.

“I… I… I wanted to announce it as romantically as can be - at the prom. You just said it yourself that I am a hopeless romantic, so I wanted Marinette to have the most romantic dating announcement ever.”

Alya narrowed her eyes at him and sharply pulled her hand out of the grinning boy’s arm. She looked at Marinette who smiled back shyly and said:

“Alright, I’ll believe you this time, Agreste. But if you hurt my girl…”

“Yes, yes, I know! You’ll find me, kick my ass, break my neck, send me to prison or simply murder depending on what I did. Been there, done that, heard that.”

Journalist’s eyes went wide as she silently stared back but Adrien only shrugged his shoulders.

“What? You have a different or bigger list of punishments? I thought that Tom’s was pretty complete.”

By now Alya was out completely. 

“He met your parents?”

She was staring again at blushing Marinette who though her giggles could manage only:

“Surprise?”

Alya turned away and started passing the room nervously.

“So I lower my guard over you for a little under the pretense of you being busy with our prom dresses and you manage to get a crush of your life to kiss you multiple times, start dating him AND get him to meet your parents?”

She glanced back at now completely embarrassed Marinette.

“I guess?”

Alya suddenly stopped in her tracks, walked over to her best friend and took her by shoulders before screaming loudly:

“You’ve got to teach me your ways, girl!!! How did you manage it?”

All four in the room burst into a fit of laughs releasing all the negativity and tension in a room. After they were able to control themselves again Nino and Alya wholeheartedly congratulated their friends and settled back in excitedly demanding the details of their Valentine’s date which Marinette and Adrien provided enthusiastically with some modifications, of course, to avoid the unnecessary link to their secret identities. 

The rest of the evening they spent chatting happily about every possible subject they could think of, starting from the prom to dreaming about their future. To be honest, both lovebirds were relieved that their secret, at least one of them, came out privately to their best friends. Neither of them wanted to imagine Alya’s fit at the prom and all the commotion that would follow. 

In a couple of hours, just before they were thinking about ending their day, Nino looked at the Adrien, who was now shamelessly cradling Marinette in his lap while playing with her hair, and asked:

“So, what does your father think about all of this?”

The boy gulped and responded nervously:

“I didn’t exactly tell him yet. He just returned from his trip this morning so I didn’t have a chance yet. I’ll talk to him either today before bed or tomorrow before school. But it should be fine. Marinette is impossible not to like.”

He smiled at his girlfriend and kissed her hair softly to much of their friend’s disgust.

“Control yourself, lover boy. Come, Nino! It’s late already and I need to get back home. Are you coming, Marinette, or staying here overnight?”

Alya winced at them but Marinette got up quickly and replied:

“I am going with you, guys. My boyfriend here promised my dad that I’ll be home by 10 p.m. every day and now I have to obey or he’ll go broke.”

The girl laughed and ran away from Adrien who has about to grab her and pull her back to himself.

“Behave, Adrien, or I’ll come home at 12 a.m. and wake up my daddy to witness my arrival.”

She giggled when Adrien fake fell to the ground pretending to be dead.

“You won’t dare, princess.”

“Watch me, silly.” - she waived to him and was about to leave the room when Alya pulled her back in.

“Well, not that you don’t look hot in Adrien’s PJs, Marinette, but you might want to change back into your own clothes.”  
______________________________________________

First thing next morning Adrien was standing in front of his father’s office quietly knocking on the door. The boy entered when he heard a faint “Come in” and proceeded to stand in front of a massive, dark desk just as he was used to do since he could remember. His father was a strict and very busy man so he didn’t exactly indulged Adrien with his attention and most of their interactions over the years took place right here in his office.

“Good morning, Adrien. Natalie informed me that you wanted to see me. Make it quick. I have lots of work today.”

The teen shrieked. He probably would never get used to his father’s cold attitude but lately when he could compare it with Marinette’s and her parents’ relationship he was even more amazed at how unemotional one can be towards his own child.

“It won’t take long, father. I just wanted to inform you that I have a girlfriend and I intend to take her out publicly to the prom this Sunday. Thought you’d like to know from me before you read it in a newspaper.”

Gabriel lifted his head and watched his son closely.

“I should’ve expected that taking in consideration your age. Fine. What’s her name?”

“Marinette”

His eyes narrowed.

“I meant full name, Adrien.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, father.”

Gabriel froze for a minute as if trying to remember something.

“Sounds familiar somehow.”

He picked up the phone and ordered.

“Natalie, everything you have on Marinette Dupain-Cheng immediately on my desk. You can sit down, Adrien. This could take a while.”

Adrien sat in a chair and sighed. He should’ve expected that. Did he know that his father keeps tabs on every one who comes his way? Yes, he did. Did he suspect that he also does the same for Adrien? He also did. Then why is he so disgusted and disappointed right now? Why does he feel like an undesirable nuisance rather than a loved child…?

They waited for a few minutes in a complete silence. Gabriel went back to his work while Adrien just stared out in a window before Natalie brought in a red folder and placed it in front of Gabriel. The man opened it immediately and started to inspect the papers inside. After what seemed like an eternity to Adrien but in reality was only about five minutes the older man closed the folder and said in a cold, strict voice:

“Ok. But there will be conditions.”

Adrien’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Ok what?”

Gabriel’s voice now had a note of irritation as well.

“Ok, you can play your little game for a while. The girl looks decent enough. But there will be conditions.”

“Like what?” 

Adrien’s voice now too could be considered irritated.

“First of all, I want you to understand that this “relationship” of yours won’t help her to get into a fashion world. I see that she is trying to be a designer and, honestly, in your place the first question I would probably ask myself would be – does she actually like you or does she like your position in a fashion society?”

Gabriel didn’t give his astonished son a chance to respond as he continued:

“So the first condition will be – your girlfriend won’t get any special treatment if she tries to apply for an internship here or anywhere else for that matter. If she wants to apply she can but her connection to you won’t be taken into consideration. Understood?”

Adrien simply nodded. There was no point to argue with his father and try to prove to him that Marinette would never even think about using him to secure a career for herself. She simply didn’t need Adrien’s influence – her work was amazing and anyone who saw it would agree with him.

“Second, you have to continue stay on top of your studies and work. If I will be informed that any part of your life is suffering because of this girl, I will reconsider my decision.”

He looked at the boy again, silently waiting for an agreement. Adrien nodded again.

“Yes, father.”

“And lastly, I hope I can trust you enough to avoid any undesirable consequences of your playtime. It will be highly inappropriate to have an illegitimate child for a man of your social standing.”

The man watched his son closely waiting for a response. Adrien clenched his fists but replied calmly:

“I understand, father. But have ever considered that I might marry her one day?”

The man looked away for a second before answering that question with still cold and distant voice:

“I should clarify some things from the start here, Adrien. A man in your position is expected to marry accordingly and, ideally, you should’ve remained single until the right person came along. However, I understand that you are young and can’t control your hormones so I will go along with your little request on the conditions that we’ve discussed. However, when I said that this girl looks decent enough I meant for play, not marriage. You can’t marry a baker’s daughter and you should know that. Now, if you excuse me, I have more important things to do than to argue with you.”

Gabriel went back to his work completely ignoring Adrien who looked calm outside but struggled enormously to suppress a hurricane rising up inside of him. He stood up quietly and left the room without a single word. 

The blond was walking through an empty hallway of a cold house he had never felt at home in – his fists still clenched, the body tense and stressed, tears in his eyes – with a single thought of jumping out of his window and sprinting towards a house where he would be loved despite any social status or expectations.

How dared he? How dared he to tell him who to marry? How dared he to tell him if Marinette was good enough? He wasn’t worth her pinky and here he is telling him that she isn’t good enough for a marriage? Forget about it for now! Adrien didn’t think about marrying for at least a couple more years but to consider his feeling just an inability to control his hormones and a desire to “play”? Have this man ever loved in his life? Did he marry my mother also because she was appropriate? 

The images of his evening at Dupain-Cheng’s came to mind. How different those two occasions were! Marinette’s parents actually wanted to meet him while for his father a set of papers was enough to form an opinion about his girlfriend. Marinette’s father went through a trouble of creating that contract and even if he joked about it later it still showed just how much he loved and cared for Marinette… and now they also loved him… unlike his own father… who stated plainly that this amazing girl was not good enough to spend his life with because she wasn’t rich or famous…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted with a chime of his phone.

M - “Good morning, kitty. Sorry I will be absent today during the first class so don’t wait up. See you after lunch.”

A - “Where are you disappearing to, princess?”

M – “A secret mission. ☺ Don’t ask I won’t tell now. Everything in it’s own time. Love you.”

Adrien knew that he should know better right now and trust Marinette but his vulnerable emotional state at the moment didn’t help and despite his best efforts a now familiar feeling of jealousy and hurt rose up inside of him and an obsessive desire of finding out what Lorenzo was doing today somehow was getting stronger and stronger.


	15. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say there is a thin line between love and hate and sometimes that line is very easy to cross...

The first thing that came to mind when she saw him – he looks horrible… she would say even miserable, crushed… Where did that happy, carefree Adrien disappeared to overnight? Why did he look like he was struck by a truck and thrown of the cliff afterwards? What happened? Puzzled Alya looked over at Nino but he only shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what was happening with his best friend either. 

What was going on? But a much better question was – where was his damn girlfriend when he so obviously needed her?

Alya checked her phone again. Her last message from Marinette said that she’ll miss the first part of the day and will be back after lunchtime. All ten or was it fifteen messages Alya sent her after that stayed unanswered. Not even opened yet. She sighed glancing at Adrien again and started typing:

“What the heck, Mari? Adrien looks like he’s been through hell and I’d say he didn’t make it back quite yet! Where are you when he needs you?”  
_______________________________________

Adrien was struggling, really struggling inside. He never knew that heartache could be so … painful, almost as much painful as a physical one. His whole body was aching and his head was still somewhat fussed. Yes, he was upset and even furious with his father and, although he knew that Gabriel’s reaction wasn’t unexpected or something to be proud of, it was still a much better outcome than getting “No, you can’t date right now, focus on your future!” as an answer from him. 

However, even his father’s coldness didn’t affect him as much as his battle to believe Marinette over Lorenzo. Why would his fellow model lie? He had no reasons to mess with Adrien… they weren’t rivals and they didn’t feud. In fact, the two of them were getting along just fine… not too close but not too distant either. Lorenzo had absolutely no reasons or interest in lying to him… 

On the other hand, Marinette would never cheat on him either. Never! She was horrible at lying and even when she did Adrien could point it out right away by her blushing cheeks and her silly attempts to hide her eyes. Her face was so easy to read… she was always so expressive, so adorable... He could tell she wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t approve of open relationships and she wasn’t lying when she said that she loved him. 

Could she love the two of them? He did see her with his own eyes hugging and kissing Lorenzo… It was bizarre to say the least and painful to even think about. Add in a mix her constant disappearances and talks of a surprise… It was hard, so hard to still trust blindly and believe… especially for Adrien who was already betrayed by a loved one before… She just disappeared… He learned too early that people could leave, disappear from your life forever, despite saying that they love you. He hoped… wished so hard that Marinette would be different.

Adrien dropped his head onto the table and closed his tired eyes. For now, he’ll try to stick with believing his girlfriend, he thought. Just to keep sane and try not to give up on something so wonderful right away. He loves her. The rest he’ll figure out later. 

Just before a bell rung his phone buzzed.

“Kitty, what happened? I’ll be there as soon as I can. Meet you on a roof in 5. Usual place, I’ll bring the food.”

The boy smiled for the first time that day, even if it was a really small and sad smile, and when at the sound of a bell the class finally ended he was up and ready to go. Marinette was already waiting for him and from the look on her face he saw right away that she was worried. His princess was still beautiful and amazing, she still smiled for him but her eyes betrayed her concern for him and as soon as Adrien came close, the girl quickly threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed tightly to his chest whispering:

“You don’t look so good, kitty. What happened to you?”

A sudden splash of warmth rushed through him and he squeezed her tighter to his chest enjoying the small bit of happiness that he could have. His doubts and worries started to melt away - her presence always had that effect on him. Being so close to Marinette always made everything right.

“Nothing that your sweet kiss won’t fix, Princess.”

Marinette smiled softly lifting her sparkling, full of love eyes to Adrien and in a blink of an eye his hands were already cupping her face and he was earnestly kissing her, claiming her soft lips and her love for himself. He needed her. Adrien just simply needed her close to him; he craved her warmth and her presence. He could not imagine his world without her right now and at that moment he didn’t care about anything or anyone. He just needed her… and it seemed that she was only happy and eager to satisfy his wishes by leaning closer and closer, by kissing him back with more passion that he could ever remember in her and just by being there for him, by being close. 

After some time Marinette pulled away slightly, their foreheads still touching, both blushing and breathing heavily. She gazed into his eyes lovingly and whispered:

“I also have some food for you, kitty… your favorites – papa’s croissants and mama’s signature herbal tea. Should we?”

Adrien smiled and let her go reluctantly. After all, he was hungry and he did want to speak with her, to let at least a part of his burden of his chest. The couple sat down and started to eat, chatting comfortably about everything but the important issues. Marinette recognized just how dejected and sad Adrien was and she didn’t want to add even more complications with her questions until he was ready to tell her himself so she didn’t inquire. She decided to try lifting his spirits by simply being there for him and letting him feel loved and cared for. He’ll tell her when the time will be right…

A lunch break was almost over and the couple was getting ready to go back to class but just before they left Adrien suddenly stopped Marinette from walking away. He caught her hand and pulled her back to him. The boy stood silently a few more seconds before finally admitting:

“I spoke with my father today…”

She stepped closer to him and lifting her hand gently stroked his cheek, looking into his emerald eyes.

“What happened?”

Adrien sighed.

“Well the good news – we can date all we want… on some conditions.”

Her eyes flamed up with curiosity:

“And they are...?”

The boy shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, first of all, I have to be a very good boy and make my papa proud. Second, my name and I personally will be useless to my girlfriend if she decides to enter fashion world and, lastly, my father isn’t exactly ready to become a grandfather yet.”

Adrien grinned at the last words just as Marinette went crimson. She smiled shyly.

“Sounds reasonable enough. Anything else?”

He paused for a second but quickly decided that the marriage question was still a long time away to discuss it now. His father maybe had an agenda set for him but at the same time Adrien was pretty sure that Marinette would be in his life forever and he had no intentions of backing off in that matter. He’ll deal with it latter and find a way when the time comes but for now… why stress about something that is still a few years away? Adrien shook his head.

“Neh. That’s all. Now tell me more about your morning. Where did you disappear to, princess?”

Marinette grinned and poke his nose playfully with her finger.

“It’s a surprise, kitty. You’ll have to wait until Saturday to find out but I will tell you that it’s a nice surprise. You’ll like it. Promise.”

The girl quickly stood on her tiptoes and placed one more sweet kiss on his cheek.

“I love you, Adrien. Don’t ever forget it. But now, we need to go back to class. Lunch is almost over.”  
_____________________________________

The rest of Wednesday flew by very quickly. Adrien went back to being his usual self in no time. Marinette was by his side the whole remaining school day and, if any of the teachers noticed that she and Nino switched places, they said nothing – it was the last day of school anyway – why bother? But, unfortunately for them, Adrien had so many extracurricular activities after school that it was impossible for the couple to stay together until they met later that night at some random roof. 

After a quick patrol they spend their remaining time together hiding somewhere high from everyone. Adrien was cuddling his Lady in red who happily chatted about how her portfolio for that awesome design school she enrolled in was coming along, about that new recipe her dad invented, about how amazingly Alya was freaking out about her date with Nino… She was talking but he was hardly listening. Adrien suddenly caught himself feeling so much at home with her on that random roof. He felt so warm and cozy… He wasn’t paying attention to anything, he was just feeling, taking the moment in, trying to remember it forever, mentally kicking himself over and over again for even considering Lorenzo’s words as true… 

“Princess, what are you doing tomorrow after 5 p.m.? I’ll be free after that so maybe we can go out somewhere? Allow your humble knight to take you out for a coffee.”

Marinette paused before replying. His smile was so charming and his eyes looked so hopeful but she was already booked. She hated herself for it but reminded herself again that it was all worth it. 

“Ah, I am sorry, Adrien, but, unfortunately, I can’t. I’ll be busy from 4 till 6 tomorrow. What about Friday night? We’ll have an exam in a morning and then I’ll have some business to attend to right after that but I’ll be free after 5 p.m. Works for you?”

Adrien smiled and decided to avoid asking what she was busy with just to spare himself some more doubts and excruciation.

“Works for me, Princess. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know… Maybe we can just stroll around the Seine and get a coffee in one of those cute shops? With all the fuss that’s going to happen at the prom I really just want some peaceful time alone with you. Just the two of us.”

She was looking somewhere in a distance but Adrien could see her eyes - full of sparkling light and undeniable love. She looked happy to be with him, in his arms and he wished for a second that he would’ve never doubted her. How could he? She was perfect and she was his.

“I love it when you read my mind, Princess. Friday stroll along the Seine it is then.”  
_________________________________________

Thursday was busy. His schedule was packed with the last minutes exam preparation tutors and even a photo shoot squeezed in. By the time a clock neared 5 p.m. Adrien was absolutely exhausted. He slowly gathered his things and headed out of an office. The day was beautiful, sunny, and peaceful. Once outside waiting for Gorilla the boy closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth when a sudden sense of sadness and loneliness overflowed him. If everything would be perfect that was the time he planned to spend with Marinette… but she was busy with something she didn’t want to tell him… and he still needed help with his doubts whenever he was away from her… In her presence he didn’t doubt her honesty but without her he struggled…

Gorilla picked him up shortly and they started their usual route to an Agreste mansion. Adrien was leaning in his seat and looking out in a window, watching couples hold hands while strolling on calm streets arm in arm, all the small cute shops and cafes along his route. It was such a perfect little world of its own. His thoughts shifted to tomorrow’s date with his princess. Tomorrow he’ll be here too… with Marinette.

The boy was completely lost in his dreams of tomorrow when unexpectedly something caught his sight. His car was slowly driving by one of the cafes, one of those that had an outdoor patio drowning in all kinds of pretty flowers and greenery. It was secluded and somewhat private comparing to the others on a street. The car came to a complete stop right opposite the patio and Adrien almost jumped up in his seat, his eyes wide and his jaw dropping down. He could clearly see Lorenzo sitting behind one of the tables, sipping something from a cup, talking to Marinette… He rubbed his eyes vigorously but she didn’t disappeared. She sat half way turned to him, leaning on her hand while checking her phone. Her dark hair was down framing her shoulders and she was wearing one of those pretty summer dresses he liked so much on her…

The car started moving again taking the shocked boy away. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes in denial.

“It’s not Marinette. It couldn’t be her. It someone else very, very similar to her…” 

His mind refused to accept, his heart ached and his head was spinning… Grave, dark thoughts were madly attacking his confused mind but he refused to believe. Her hair was down and he couldn’t see her whole face, so it wasn’t her. Leave it at that!  
______________________________________

For the past two hours Adrien was lying alone on his bed staring into a ceiling in total silence. Plagg graciously left him right after they came back, for once not even hinting about his cheese, clearly understanding that it wasn’t the time and his chosen one needed some time to think. Somehow the boy started to look sick when he got home, which wasn’t too far from the truth - this whole situation made Adrien sick, very sick. He almost felt nauseous at the thought of his girlfriend’s possible betrayal but even worse he felt that he was even capable of suspecting her in being a two-timer. Marinette… She was pure and honest, she was perfect… she wouldn’t do that not to him, not to anyone else. 

His phone buzzed. He lazily took it into his hand and brought the screen to his face.

Lorenzo - “Hey, Adrien! That was hard but I managed!”

Adrien smirked and his thoughts rushed back to this morning when the sudden rush of jealousy prompted him to text Lorenzo asking him for a picture of his girlfriend. He explained his curiosity by the fact that he thought he knew her and wanted to make sure that his coworker was dating a decent girl. His excuse was damn and he knew that but he didn’t care… as long as it was good enough for Lorenzo to respond. He got his reply only now. 

Lorenzo - “Usually she wouldn’t let me take a picture of her but I succeeded today especially for you. So if you recognize her let me know what you think. Should I stick here or look somewhere else?”

Then followed a picture. 

A sad, small smile appeared on a model’s face. Adrien looked at the photo for a few minutes not knowing if he should be surprised or relieved by finally being able to see her face clearly. Same blue eyes he loved so much, same cute nose he liked to pock, her rosy lips he loved so much to kiss, her smile that drove him crazy…

Adrien stared for a few more seconds and threw the phone away not even bothering to reply. It was his Marinette. No doubts there now. So she refused a coffee date with him to go on a date with Lorenzo? He was probably her surprise for Adrien. The boy could imagine it now – “Hey, Adrien, say hello to Lorenzo, my other boyfriend. I hope you like him, I sure do.”

His guilt and sadness suddenly transformed into disappointment and anger. She did play him and she was a better actress than he thought. Of course, she was good – she was Ladybug! She made him feel guilty for suspecting her. He kicked himself for days for it when in fact he should’ve not. Was it was a game from the start? Did she even love him at all? Was he so wrong to want being the only one she kissed and loved like that? Was he wishing too much? 

Adrien stood up and walked up to his window – Paris at night was quiet and calm, people strolling around, a setting sun behind the Eifel tower. He wished he could feel like that right now - peaceful and tranquil, nothing like what was going on inside of his soul at the moment. The boy suddenly clenched his fist and punched the frame in exasperation letting out a desperate cry. He dropped down to the floor letting his tears run. His hand hurt but it wasn’t even comparable to the pain in his heart. He felt betrayed… again.

Adrien closed his eyes and forced himself to stop crying. He’s had enough. He always craved love in his life but right now he wanted to not care… like his father. Gabriel didn’t care… he didn’t love but he also didn’t suffer. Yes, he was cold and distant, but he also didn’t get hurt and destroyed… he wasn’t miserable. He was successful. Adrien could be successful too. Why didn’t he understand it before? Why did he so stupidly and naively think that someone could actually really love him? His foolish dreams only brought him pain… Yes, from now on he’ll be just like his father. He won’t be fooled anymore…

“Time to sleep, Plagg. We have a big day tomorrow.”

His surprised kwammi flew closer.

“Why?”

He glared back at him and Plagg froze. To his huge surprise and horror Adrien’s eyes weren’t full of light and hope anymore. They were full of hate and resentment. He didn’t even need an akuma right now. He looked and felt like one already.

“Tomorrow I’ll get my proof that she is a cheating liar and then I’ll make her feel just as miserable as she made me.”  
________________________________________

Marinette was excited. Today was Friday, a day of their final exam and after it they would be finally free of school for a while. But even more excitingly, tomorrow at the prom she’ll have the best surprise for Adrien. She’ll finally be able to dance a waltz with him properly, gracefully, not stepping on his feet every five steps like the last time they danced and not embarrassing her kitty in front of everybody. He was an Agreste after all and that meant something. The name alone suggested at least some level of a standard. Adrien deserved a suitable and confident girlfriend and if she needed to learn all the etiquette and all the social tricks to be able to represent him accordingly, she’ll do it all no matter how hard it will be. 

Today right after the exam will be her last lesson at the dance studio. Marinette came a long way in the last week. She went from being obnoxiously clumsy on a dance floor to dancing like a gracious lady under the watchful eye of her teacher and the girl was very proud of it. The only thing that concerned her out of the whole deal was a fact that Adrien found out that she’s hiding something and obviously was troubled by it. Sometimes she wanted to tell him but a desire to surprise him was stronger so she tried her best to assure her boyfriend that her surprise will be a pleasant one and he doesn’t need to worry.

She ate her breakfast fast and looking at the clock run off to school for the last time this year. An exam wasn’t hard, she did study, but Marinette was surprise at how distant and even cold Adrien was today. His smiles were more like mean smirks, he didn’t talked much to her and left right after he finished, not even giving her a good-bye glance. She felt that something was wrong… She had never saw Adrien in such a bad mood. Well, she thought, he didn’t cancel their date today, so she’ll talk to him then, right now she had her last dance lesson to make. And she was already a little bit late.

Marinette was in such a hurry that she didn’t even notice a certain black cat quietly following her through the rooftops of nearby buildings. She reached the studio in about ten minutes and walked inside the classroom already being awaited by her teacher. He smiled when the girl came in and gave her a quick hug.

“Ah, Marinette. Nice to see again, dear. So, are you ready for your final class?”

The girl smiled back softly.

“I can’t believe it is our last class, M. Gambiller. You should know that you did an amazing job with me. I’d even say a miracle. Thank you so much.”

Marinette curtsied and was about to ask what they should start with when her eyes glanced quickly over to a big floor to ceiling window and the girl froze. She would’ve never stopped for more than a moment looking at the roof of a building opposite her studio but right now there was a certain Chat Noir standing there in a plain sight. He didn’t even bother to hide and it seemed to her that his posture was both provocative and mocking at the same time. Marinette came closer to the window to take a better look. His face featured a dark smirk and his eyes expressed nothing but pain and sorrow. Her heart sunk – what happened to him? She should’ve went after her boyfriend after school, not here…

“I’m sorry, M. Gambiller, but I really need to leave now. Please, excuse me” – she said quickly already running out of the door and in the streets of Paris to find him.

Marinette transformed in a nearest alley and ran across roofs in search of Chat. He left his spot but didn’t run away from her, Adrien just relocated farther from the prying eyes of pedestrians and when he found a more or less private spot he stopped and waited. Ladybug jumped behind him just a half of a minute later.

“Adrien… What’s going on? You look…”

He stopped her abruptly.

“Dumb? Maybe stupid? Or not, wait, I have a perfect word for it – deceived! Yes, that should do it. Right, Marinette?”

His voice was cold. It didn’t shiver nor it shook. It sent a knock right into her stomach. Marinette looked at him more shocked then she ever was.

“What are you talking about, Adrien?”

He looked hurt and angry. She wanted to come closer and comfort him but Chat stood in an almost defensive position so the girl decided to stay where she was for now.

“Were you waiting for him, Marinette? I bet he was just a little late. How romantic – a dance date. You never mentioned to me that you could dance really well. Quite the opposite actually, I clearly remember you stomping on my feet a while ago!”

He stepped right in front of her and took her chin in his palms, lifting her face to him while whispering:

“Does he get to experience the best side of you, my Lady, the one I wasn’t good enough for? Did you tell him your little secret? Does he know who you are, Marinette? 

The girl stared at him confusingly. His hold was rough and his voice was colder than ever but it was his eyes that scared her the most.

“Who are you talking about, Adrien?”

He smirked and leaned over, his lips hovering just above hers.

“Who else, my Lady? Your other boyfriend, Lorenzo.”

Her puzzled eyes continued to stare at him closely.

“I have no idea who that Lorenzo is, Chat, but, please, let me go and let’s talk. Explain everything to me, please.”

Adrien snatched his hand away and turned around speaking harshly.

“There is nothing to talk about, Marinette. I know that you are also dating Lorenzo and that you were planning to dump me as soon as a fitting replacement would be found. What a nice excuse to get away – I have a surprise for you, Adrien. Why did you even bother with me in a first place? Do you like to hurt other so bad?”

The girl walked around to face Adrien and whispered shocked:

“Are you saying that I am cheating on you with someone else?”

Adrien took her hand slowly and kissed it, never letting his eyes of hers but somehow this gesture stirred up only pain in her heart.

“You will continue to deny it, my Lady?”

“Why would you even assume such a thing, Adrien?”

He smirked and leaned close to her ear whispering:

“Well, he told me. I would even say he proved it to me.”

Adrien drew back and was watching Marinette’s face expecting her to finally admit her fault or at least show any signs of being caught red-handed. Instead, all he saw was confusion and disbelief and maybe a bit of hurt and disappointment in her eyes. She was a good actress. If he haven’t seen her with Lorenzo with his own eyes he might have actually believe her now.

“You would believe someone else over me in something so serious? You really trust me that little?”

Marinette sounded hurt – he realized that and it broke his heart over and over again… Adrien still loved her but right now he was blinded by anger and pain. He just wanted her to admit that she was wrong. He tightened his grip on her hand and almost seethed through his teeth angrily.

“I don’t have to trust if I have evidence, Marinette!”

Her eyes were starting to tear up… Marinette was looking into a stiff face of her Adrien, the one she was in love with for so many years, the one who promised to love her, the one who had her heart forever, but she could hardly see him there anymore. He didn’t just didn’t believe or trust her, he plainly chose not to. She desperately tried to defend herself one more time.

“I don’t date anyone except you, Adrien. I love you.”

Adrien threw her hand away and sharply turned around. Stepping a few inches away from her, he coldly said.

“I don’t believe you, Marinette. I have a proof that you are lying. I can’t trust you right now. You can’t hurt me anymore.”

A blow of cold wind blew over Marinette’s trembling frame and she shivered. His words hurt. He didn’t want to listen. He didn’t want to trust. He didn’t believe her. The girl wiped away escaping tears and whispered:

“I’m sorry, Adrien. I don’t know why you would think that I was ever unfaithful to you but it’s not true. I’ve never loved anyone else but you. I’ve never dated anyone but you… but if you don’t believe me… this relationship would never work if we don’t trust each other... Maybe it’s be better for us to wait until you can trust me… I’m sorry if I hurt you… I love you and I always will. I’m sorry.”

With those words she turned the other way and ran off. Adrien continued to stand still, his eyes closed, his body tense and his heart bleeding away. How even was it possible for him to hurt more than he already did? He knew they will break up, he planned to break with her but he never imagined that it would still hurt that badly. Why would she still deny it? Why would she carve his heart further?

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud crush on his left. Chat turned around and to his horror saw a huge animal-like creature. It was a big octopus/gorilla/human hybrid. A bright purple beast looked like a hairy primate with a human head and a row of octopus tentacles behind it and it was climbing an Eifel tower, roaring loudly. The sound of a crush came from a vehicle the creature threw at someone but it was the heart-shattering screams that caught his attention right away. In one of his tentacles akuma was holding a small child, a little girl who was desperately crying and screaming. 

Chat closed his eyes for a second and shook his head.

“I’m still Chat Noir and no matter what is going on with me I have to help that child.”

He jerked up and quickly dashed towards the Eifel tower trying to channel his anger and rage into an impending battle. As soon as he reached the base of the place he saw Ladybug already up there, trying to figure out where the akuma was. 

“Well, I’ll leave her to figure out her part and I’ll do mine meanwhile” – he determined and without a second thought or even a simple acknowledgement of her presence he sprinted up to the creature and to try free the girl. The battle was tough but Chat did his best to ignore Ladybug and everything that she screamed to him. This akuma was strong and it had multiple limbs so he didn’t have time right now to deal with his cheating girlfriend. 

They were almost at the highest point when he suddenly lost his balance jumping on a thin, uneven rail. Chat caught the nearest beam and tried to steady himself out when something unexpectedly hit him from behind. From a sheer force of an impact he was thrown of his feet, knocking his head hard on a steel structure. The pain spread rapidly through his body as he closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt weightless, as if he was flying or falling… The last thing he heard was Marinette’s desperate screaming of his name…


	16. Forgive me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the love and comments you are leaving me :) Hope you enjoy this... It's almost finished :D

“Adrien…”

“Please, don’t leave me…”

“Stupid, reckless cat…”

“Just, please, come back to me…”

“I can’t lose you…”

For a while now Adrien was drifting in and out of consciousness. Everything was dark and strangely nothing in his body hurt but he couldn’t open his eyes or move. In fact, he didn’t even feel his body. He could only hear someone whisper to him from time to time, far at a distance… a very, very familiar voice…

“I love you…”

Marinette… It was her voice… His heart fluttered at the sound. Her sweet, dear voice… He wanted to open his eyes and embrace her; he wanted to kiss her beautiful, gorgeous face and to beg her for forgiveness. He didn’t care anymore for anything… all he wanted was to be with her. But somehow he couldn’t… Each time his mind started to clear up a bit and Adrien thought that he might just break through, he fell right back into the darkness and void again.  
________________________________________

“Are you sure, Plagg, he is alright? Maybe we should better bring him to a hospital?”

A black kwami sighed.

“For the tenth time, Marinette, he is fine. Your Miraculous Ladybug light fixed all of his internal head injuries and the suit protected everything else. He just needs time to rejuvenate. Like a computer reboot kind of thing. Just have patience. He did almost die, his body just needs time. I can actually sense his condition and I repeat again - he is fine.”

Marinette frowned but nodded sadly continuing to gently thread her fingers through his blond hair still too shocked and stressed after the horrible accident.

When the akuma threw Chat Noir to the side with one of its octopus limbs, he hit his head hard on a steel beam and plunged down from the Eifel tower unconscious. Marinette could see everything from her place just above him but was unable to help just in time. She called to him, tried to warn but it seemed that he just ignored her. When she saw that Chat was freefalling unconscious from the top of Eifel tower the girl did the only logical thing she could do – she jumped after the him not even thinking how she could save both of them at the same time. 

What happened next was still a blur to her. She remembered only calling out Lucky Charm in desperation as soon as her feet left the firm surface. The next thing Marinette knew she was holding Chat Noir in her arms and hitting something big and soft. Both of them were saved by a huge pillow like structure that popped out at the bottom of the structure. Chat was still out so she carried him away before recharging and coming back to fight the akuma for the second time.

When Ladybug came back to the roof where she left her partner he was still unconscious and wasn’t showing any signs of a life except for a faint breathing. Adrien looked like he was sleeping but no amount of shaking and begging woke him up. In a matter of minutes his transformation ended releasing Plagg who explained that, unfortunately, Chat was injured in the only place his suit couldn’t protect him – his head. Luckily, her Miraculous Light had the power to heal his injuries but because he was so close to death Adrien needed an extra time to “rejuvenate” as Plagg explained. He added that it usually took no more than 2 – 3 hours. 

Four hours later sun was already setting below the horizon. In a pink-painted bedroom above the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery wiping away her tears Marinette was still cradling his head in her lap brushing his hair with her fingers and begging him to wake up. Tikki and Plagg watched the girl sadly not knowing what to do. They knew Adrien was going to be all right but right now they couldn’t prove it to his distressed partner. All they could do is to answer her questions from time to time and hope that he’ll wake up soon.  
_________________________________________

“I love you… I love you… I love you…” - kept ringing in his mind. But it was still dark and he still couldn’t move. He still couldn’t reply.

All of a sudden Adrien started to feel again… First, it was his head that started to spin lightly. Next, the boy regained weak sensations in his body enough for him to break through and wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The room was silent and dark and his vision was still kind of blurry but he could recognize Marinette’s bedroom anywhere and the boy was absolutely sure that he was here, in her room, lying down in her bed. 

Adrien groaned quietly and was about to raise himself a little to better see everything when a small, black blob with glowing green eyes appeared right in front of his eyes.

“Idiot!”

Adrien frowned and whispered in a still tired and confused voice.

“Nice to see you too, Plagg.”

But the kwammi only smirked crossing his arm on his little chest:

“I didn’t say I was glad to see you. I said you are an idiot! A selfish, stupid idiot! In fact, I am almost ashamed to be your kwammi right now!”

Adrien’s eyes widened a little. Plagg could be a pain in an ass sometimes and he definitely didn’t watch his language but he never openly and, as it seemed, earnestly insulted him before. They were kind of friends after all.

“What’s got into you, Plagg?” 

Kwammi angrily huffed and zoomed up to his nose. He glared at the puzzled boy for a few seconds before scream whispering at him:

“What were you thinking?! You almost got yourself killed! She almost killed herself trying to save you! Was your jealousy worth it?

Adrien closed his eyes as memories of previous days rushed to his head – Lorenzo, Marinette, dates, secrets and lies… His resentment and pain started to come back, not as strong as before but still… She lied; she cheated and broke up with him… Well, he basically made her do it but still… His heart and breathing tensed.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Plagg, and I think I have at least a little right to be angry and disappointed… Marinette cheated on me. She lied and she broke up with me…” 

“Only because you basically forced her to.” 

Plagg continued hovering over his chest showing with all his being how disgusted he was at the moment. His next words caused Adrien to sadly smirk:

“She didn’t cheat on you, Adrien.”

“And how do you know that? I saw them with my own eyes, Plagg, and even you saw the picture Lorenzo sent! I tried to believe... I really-really did… but some things are just over my limits too.”

In a spur of the moment Plagg flew closer and angrily poked his little hand into Adrien’s nose.

“And how can you be sure it wasn’t Lorenzo who lied to you?”

Adrien didn’t move, shocked a little by such passion he never suspected Plagg had in him for anything other than cheese. The boy thought for a few seconds and replied:

“Why would he lie, Plagg? He has nothing to gain from it. And it’s not like he was looking for me to expose her. I caught them when they thought that no one saw.”

Plagg crossed his arms, turned away and arrogantly hissed:

“So you’ll believe some guy you barely know over a girl who risked her life saving you?”

Adrien gulped. He sat down bending his head and hopelessly hugging it with his arms. He was so tired, both physically and emotionally. He was completely and utterly exhausted. The last thing he wanted right now was to deal with all of this mess. 

“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Plagg… I just don’t.”

“Just talk to her.”

The boy turned around to catch a glimpse of a peacefully sleeping girl. Marinette looked like she just dozed off there unintentionally. She was curled up on the other side of a bed on top of her comforter and was still wearing her outdoor clothes. Adrien watched her for a minute and groaned turning away. He couldn’t handle to look at her longer…

“Gosh, I still love her so much, Plagg… and… it hurts so bad to… to just think about it.”

The kwammi quietly sat down on the boy’s shoulder and sighed:

“Marinette didn’t lie to you, Adrien. I spoke with Tikki and Tikki never lies. The girl has no idea who your Lorenzo is and she has never cheated on you… She was very upset that you accused her of such things but she still saved your butt. I think you two need to talk and actually listen to each other. Go back to sleep now and talk to her in a morning.”

Adrien froze feeling as shame and horror crept up his spine. She didn’t lie? It wasn’t her after all? Then… he accused her wrongfully… as a jealous idiot he was… and now she must hate him… or at least she will when she wakes up. His aching heart tightened in a hard knot again as a sobering realization started to sink in. Franticly Adrien looked up at Plagg with eyes full of fear and pleading.

“Can we go home and come back in a morning?”

But kwammi only shook his head.

“Nope, can’t do. You are still too weak for a transformation and jumping on the roofs in your condition will most certainly lead you to a hospital at the best and a morgue in the worst-case scenario. Rest some more here and, I think, in a few hours, after you two talk, we’ll be able to go home.”

Mercilessly stripped of his chance of getting away Adrien sighed and lay down. 

“Never expected you’d behave as my father, Plagg.”

The boy ignored kwammi’s quiet “It’s for your best” and turned to face Marinette as he leaned closer to see her face better in the dark. A soft smile appeared on his lips. Her so dear to him face was still a little tear-stained and a little swollen but nothing looked lovelier to him at that moment. He slowly reached over and lightly stroked her cheek as his mind started to wonder – she was so perfect… but could he live without her? Did he want to exist his whole life? He couldn’t really call an existence without Marinette, her smiles, her kisses, her touches, just her everyday presence a life. It will be just that – an existence. Will she ever forgive him? If not, was he prepared to give her up to another? Or maybe he could fight for her? Maybe he could win her back? And if he did was he prepared to trust her wholly? Unconditionally? Or will he be living his whole life in this constant, strained, jealous state? Was he prepared to live with her but always look over his shoulder? Always be on guard as if waiting for the next time she’ll hurt him? Was she worth it?

These thoughts stung and confused him and Adrien wished to just forget everything for a few minutes and to rest his bruised mind but when he finally fell asleep he wished even more he wouldn’t because his dreams that night were even worse. He saw himself. Everything was just as it was now except he had never met Marinette and he had never become Chat Noir. His new, alternative life was boringly unraveling before his eyes. Father said to model and he did, father kept him home from school and so he never sneaked out, father said the friends will only hurt him and so he never made any, father told him to marry Chloe because she was acceptable and appropriate and he obeyed. He wasn’t happy, he felt nothing; he was cold and distant. He became just like his father and at the end of his days he was alone and full only of bitterness and regrets. He hated himself.

Just when the sky was starting to lighten up a little with appearance of a morning, rising sun Adrien woke up with sweat breaking through all over his body. Everything was still quiet but he could already hear the city starting to wake up. Marinette, however, was still calmly sleeping right besides him.

The boy still felt a bit weak from his ordeal and all of these stressful dreams weren’t helping. He closed his eyes and tried to will the thoughts away. What a horrible alternative! His body shrieked away just at the thought. The boy open his eyes and turned again to look at Marinette. His present was so drastically different from what he saw in his dream. He had friends, he had Plagg and all those incredible adventure he experienced as Chat Noir. But most importantly he had Marinette, someone who loved him unconditionally, who was willing to support him and be at his side, who didn’t abandon him and whom… he betrayed so cruelly. Adrien couldn’t believe that just a day ago he envied his father. He actually wanted to become like him... Was he even thinking straight? 

Unexpectedly even to him, Adrien started to be thankful for his nightmares. They made him realize that it doesn’t matter what happens in his life – to feel something will always be better than to live an emotionless and distant life he was sure to lead if he hadn’t met Marinette and Plagg. He was maybe hurting now but the pain didn’t erase all of the happy moments they shared together. It didn’t diminish them - they still warmed his heart and felt so good that nothing else really mattered. It was totally worth it. Everything inside his chest and stomach tightened. It always will be better to feel something, even if it’s jealousy and anger, than to simply exist and experience nothing special at all.

Adrien gently brushed away Marinette’s hair from her forehead. She was so beautiful, so calm and perfect… He’ll deal with his issues later, when he’ll be in a clearer state of a mind. All he wanted right now was to kiss his princess.

The blond leaned closer and timidly lingered over Marinette’s lips for a moment before softly kissing her. He was as gentle as one can be, trying to not wake her up, but he didn’t rushed to pull back either. Her lips were soft and sweet although a little salty, probably from the tears. He pulled back a little just enough for his forehead to still be touching hers kicking himself in his mind.

“I am such an idiot. I can’t even hope that she’ll take me back. Stupid idiot! I don’t deserve her…”

“I’m sorry” – Adrien whispered softly into her lips. “I’m so sorry, princess.”

He leaned in again and kissed her one more time. Slow, longing, apologizing kiss. His lips were barely moving when her eyelashes flittered and she answered his touch. On a reflex, Adrien slowly wrapped his hands around Marinette just as her hands were reaching for his hair and the kiss grew more passionate than innocent. Her unexpected response took his breath away sending an electric current through his being. His chest was burning as a new hope started to rise up in his mind - hope to be accepted back, hope that she’ll forgive him and his idiocy. 

Their kiss was never broken but nevertheless whispers sounded:

“I am sorry, Marinette.”

“Shut up you, idiot.” 

“I love you.”

“Shut up… I thought I lost you… stupid cat…”

“I am sorry…”

“Never do that again, Adrien.”

“I love you.”

“Dance.”

That didn’t fit their conversation… maybe he misunderstood something? Startled Adrien pulled away a little.

“Dance?”

Still a little sleepy and dazzled Marinette barely smiled and lightly kissed him one more time before replying:

“My surprise for you – I was taking dance lessons so I wouldn’t embarrass you at the prom with my horrible skills if you remember.”

Confused boy continued to stare at her in disbelief.

“Dance? Really? We went through all of this because of a dance?”

Marinette giggled and turned away sassily.

“Yes, a dance, waltz to be precise. Not that it matters anymore…”

Adrien tilted his head a little trying to see what was going on on her face.

“Why doesn’t it matter anymore?”

The girl sighed and turned back to face her bewildered partner.

“If I remember correctly, Adrien, – I am a cheating liar and you are no longer my boyfriend so it doesn’t matter anymore. Not to you at least…” – She took a blanket and pulled it over herself. “I am back to being single again but that’s ok because now I know how to waltz perfectly. How ironic…”

Adrien practically heard his heart breaking a little. It wouldn’t be as easy as he already allowed himself to believe. But to be fair – he did hurt her. He deserved to be punished. The boy moved closer and sat on his knees lowering his head down. 

“Marinette… I am sorry… I am…”

“An idiot, I know, I heard you before. But that doesn’t change the fact that you thought that about me, Adrien. You didn’t trust me when I told you it wasn’t true. You chose to believe those lies about me. What happened? I thought you loved me… I thought we talked about it already…”

Adrien kept his head down trying to hide his coming tears as he was finally trying to accept that he screwed up the only thing that made him happy, the only thing he wanted to live for. His fists clenched and for a moment everything looked hopeless until he decided that there were nothing more to lose so he might have just come clean about everything. The boy forced himself to admit in a last, desperate attempt to fix what seemed to him to be un-repairable right now.

“I… I saw you kissing him at my work.”

Marinette frowned and her eyes widened as she was trying to process his words. She was about to say something but he continued:

“I forced myself to believe that it was a mistake but than the guy told me you went to my school, maybe even my class and your name was Marinette.” Adrien sighed sadly. His head was still lowered because he wasn’t strong enough to look her into eyes and see just how furious she was. “He also told me that you were in an open relationship and that you also dated some other guy who was going with you and two other friends to a prom. He told me that you planned to dump him… me at the prom and go away with him… Marinette… I really-really tried to ignore it and to think that probably there was some other Marinette in our school who was going to a prom with 3 other people and looked just like you.”

“Adrien, that’s…”

Now shaking boy looked at her pleadingly.

“Please, Marinette. If you want to know why I acted the way I did, please, just listen. You want me to listen to you… please, listen to me too.”

His sad, teary eyes were begging her and after a moment Marinette nodded in a silent agreement.

“I couldn’t ask you straight about it because, you know, we were just recovering from the whole Nathaniel drama so I only asked about your opinion on an open relationship and your response was enough for me to believe you over my own eyes. But than you said that you were busy with your surprise thing on Thursday and, well, I was driving home at that time and saw you two at a café on a date… It was a lot harder this time to convince myself that it wasn’t you… but I was managing, I think, until Lorenzo sent me a picture of his girlfriend…”

He stopped for a few seconds to catch his shaken breath before continuing with a trembling voice.

“I wanted to be absolutely sure… that I was imagining things and that it… wasn’t you so I asked him to send me a photo of his girlfriend… and he sent me this…”

Adrien reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He opened his messages and passed the phone to Marinette who by this time looked rather shocked. The girl looked at the picture with a blank expression on her face. Suddenly her eyes widened. She ran down into her room and came back a few minutes later with her own cell phone. Marinette clicked something and passed both phones back to Adrien.

“You should’ve told me this right away, Adrien. Whoever planned this all probably counted on you keeping this a secret. Otherwise it would’ve never worked.”

Adrien stared at the screens. Both eliminated exactly the same picture – smiling Marinette sipping coffee at some fancy café with lots of flowers in a background. The only difference was that in his picture Lorenzo was sitting right next her, in Marinette’s it was Alya. Adrien put the phones down. Right now he did feel as an idiot to be tricked so easily. He lifted his ashamed eyes and looked at Marinette expecting to see her mocking face but she simply smiled and continued.

“It was taken about a month ago when we went out with Alya and my mom for a shopping spree. That was our lunch. That guy wasn’t with us. You can ask either of them if you still don’t’ believe me…”

“I am so sorry, Marinette. I should’ve told you everything before…” - Adrien interrupted her.

The girl smiled back at him and took his hands in hers.

“And I am sorry I didn’t ask what was bothering you, Adrien, when I clearly saw that something was off.”

All of a sudden Adrien couldn’t contain himself anymore. All the emotions that were tormenting him this past week suddenly rushed out of him. All the stress and despair, all the longing for happiness and peace, everything he experienced this last couple of days made his chest tighten and his eyes to water. The boy wrapped his arms around Marinette and pulled her to him as his tears started to flow. He squeezed her closer to better feel her warmth and to absorb as much of her essence as he could, to never let her go. Marinette embraced him in response and whispered softly:

“Would you take me back, kitty?”

Adrien murmured through his stinging, hot tears.

“You asking me? Marinette, it is I who should be hopelessly begging you right now to even consider going back to a moron like myself…”

The girl pulled away a little and brushed his messy hair away from his forehead. She looked into his teary eyes for a few moments before leaning over and kissing him gently.

“You are not a moron, Adrien. You are the most amazing, kind, loyal and handsome guy I’ve ever known. You are the only one I can trust with my life. You are incredible and I love you very much. Don’t belittle yourself because you were tricked by some nasty, cruel person. They don’t deserve even to stand close to you and they definitely won’t achieve what they were planning to do.”

Marinette paused for a second. She lifted her hand and gently wiped away his rolling tears.

“I love you, Adrien Agreste and if you’ll have me I’d love to be your girlfriend again. Don’t protest, it was me who broke up with you, not the other way around.”

Adrien didn’t answer. He simply pulled the girl in again and clutched her tightly in his arms. 

“I’ll never let you go again, princess. I’ll never get jealous again. Promise.”

Marinette giggled happily and closed her eyes enjoying Adrien’s closeness, not letting him go either.

“Don’t’ make promises you can’t keep, kitty.”

“You doubt me, my Lady?”

Marinette smirked and pulled away to look at him closely. She reached out and playfully poked his nose with her finger. 

“Speaks a cat who got seriously jealous twice in the first two weeks of dating and basically forced me to break up with him because of it.” 

Adrien blushed a little.

“I can’t help it, sorry. I promise to try?”

The girl leaned in and lovingly caressed his cheek before melting back into his arms.

“Promise me that you’ll never keep quiet if anything’s wrong. Promise to come and tell me whenever you feel down or upset. Don’t keep your feelings and your fears to yourself, Adrien. You have me now. I will be there for you even if it just a silly nonsense. Ok?”

Adrien didn’t respond again. He breathed in and buried his face into Marinette’s neck not even bothering to suppress his tears anymore. His crying grew into sobs and the boy felt like he lost control of himself again. All he could think about and see before him was this dear, amazing girl. He lifted his head and slowly leaned in before desperately claiming her lips for himself. Her lips were so tender and sweet and just for a second he wished he would be able to never stop kissing them. Her closeness was all that he really needed.

“I love you, princess.” – he whispered into the kiss and pulled her even closer.

Suddenly a loud knock startled and paralyzed them. An unmistakable Tom’s voice sounded just behind the door.

“Marinette?! Honey, are you up?”

Stunned and unsure of what to do Marinette quickly looked at an equally puzzled Adrien and pointed to her balcony door whispering:

“There. Hide.”

She untangled herself from Adrien in a flash and with a shout “Don’t come in, Papa. I am changing my clothes!” zoomed down the ladder. Thankfully the girl was wearing her outdoor clothes from the day before so her excuse looked legitimate when she opened the door. With an innocent face and a genuine smile Tom greeted her:

“Oh, good morning, honey. I just heard noses in your room and was surprised that you woke up so early. Not very typical of you but if you already up, do you want to have our breakfast together?”

Marinette smiled and immediately exited her room, making sure to tightly close a door after herself.

“Of course, Papa. I’d love to.”  
____________________________________

“I’m hungry.” – Adrien pouted his lips when she got back to her bedroom. 

Marinette almost jumped from an unexpected sound but giggled immediately when she saw his suffering, starved face. The girl didn’t expect to find one whimsical Chat Noir on her bed when she got back from the kitchen but somehow was very glad he was there. Transformed boy was lying down on her bed fully swaddled in her comforter and lazily viewing pictures on her cellphone.

“Sorry I didn’t get you anything but I thought you went home, Adrien. I’ll go grab something for you but, please, keep quiet. And put my phone down. What are you doing there?”

Chat successfully ignored her requests making the most serious facial expression he could master. 

“I am memorizing all of your pictures in case someone will try to dupe me again.”

Marinette laughed and went out again to bring food for her hungry cat of a boyfriend. Despite her worries the girl was really surprised when neither Tom nor Sabine asked her why she needed to take another full plate of food upstairs right after she just ate a huge breakfast. She was surprised even more when Sabine suggested also grabbing some chocolate chip cookies for “that sweet tooth of his”. Last words were barely murmured but Marinette decided that it would be better to avoid asking for a clarification of that statement.

When she came back Adrien already released his transformation and was waiting with an equally hungry Plagg at her workstation table with both their eyes greedily sparkling at the sight of food. 

“My Lady is too kind to me today even though I don’t deserve it. How can I ever thank you?”

The boy came closer, leaned in and placed a quick peck on Marinette’s cheek before skillfully snatching a plate from her hands and flopping into her office chair to finally start indulging in the food.

“Awww. You even have my favorite cookies… You do love me?”

Marinette giggled. “Well, at least he’s back to his usual self” – she thought before teasingly adding out loud.

“Oh, that. My mom sent them for you…”

Chat choked on a perfectly soft piece of a spinach and salmon pie. He coughed a few times before regaining his breath back and looking up at Marinette with rounded eyes.

“Your mom? She knows I am here?”

The girl laughed and lovingly petted his mischievous mop of hair.

“I suspect that they both do… however, I wonder just how much did my dad see before he knocked?”

Chat gulped as he continued to stare back at her, feeling fear rising up in his soul.

“Your… dad… saw us?”

Marinette leaned in closer – her face right against his and whispered:

“Now tell me - was there anything in that contract you signed about kissing his daughter in her bed at the earliest hour of a morning without coming through a front door?”

Chat blinked.

“I don’t think so?”

“Then I think you are safe.”

The girl laughed and pulled away.

“Don’t worry, kitty. Even if they do know they still love you, so eat up.”

Still a bit frightened Adrien slowly turned his attention back to food. Meanwhile Marinette went over and sat down on her coach, quietly thinking about something what evidently worried her. She gave Adrien a couple of more minutes to enjoy his breakfast before finally asking:

“Did the girl you see really look like me?”

He nodded still earnestly chewing his pie.

“I’d say identical, except the face. I haven’t seen it clearly but even though it must be very similar if I mistook her for you.”

Marinette hummed and lay down on her coach.

“I wonder if they’ll try to pull out something at the prom today. Didn’t you say I was supposed to dump you or something?”

He nodded again paying more attention to his chocolate chip cookies than to their conversation.

“Yup, dump me and go with Lorenzo… hm… to have fun.”

Marinette frowned and produced the most disgusted sound he ever heard from her. She kept quiet for the next couple of minutes thinking about something while Adrien was finishing his food. When the boy did finish he stood up and stretched out turning over to see Marinette. 

“I think we both know who’s behind it, Marinette. I am just wondering how did she force Lorenzo to participate. He is a pretty decent guy but, then, I don’t really know a lot about him.”

Adrien paused, walked over to the coach and sat down right next to Marinette’s petite frame hugging her tightly.

“Want to do something about it? Teach them a lesson?”

His warm touch and rustling voice suddenly so close to her snatched Marinette out of the deep thoughts she was lost in for a while now. She smiled, ruffled his blond hair and shook her head.

“I don’t think that will achieve anything, Adrien. We’ll teach them a lesson and I can almost guarantee that they’ll want to avenge themselves. It will be a never-ending circle and I don’t want to live like that. No. I think we should either ignore them or let them know that we know. Nothing more. That way they’ll be powerless.”

Adrien reached out with his hand and softly stroked her cheek before leaning in for a kiss.

“As you wish, my princess. Allow me the honors?”

Mariette smiled, shiftily grabbed his jacket and pulled him in.

“Go all out, kitty. But right now, you need to go home. We have a prom today and Alya will be here soon. You are welcome to stay if you want to explain to her and my parents what are you doing here without their knowledge.”

Adrien chuckled, smooch her quickly and replied:

“I think I’ll skip that part for now, princess. See you in a couple of hours.”

He quickly transformed and jumped out to her balcony. Marinette stood up and came to her window to watch him disappear into horizon. A soft blush and a smile graced her face when Tikki quietly landed on her shoulder.

“I am so happy everything ended well, Marinette. That was some mess Chloe created.”

The girl gently petted her kwammi and kissed her little forehead.

“I am happy too, Tikki, but, to be honest, I don’t think it is over yet. I’ve got a feeling from what Adrien has told me that the prom was supposed to be the pinnacle of Chloe’s scheme… Well, there is only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

Puzzled Tikki looked at Marinette.

“And that is?”

The girl turned away from a window and went over to her closet pulling out a dress bag.

“We go to the prom, Tikki, and we see what she has in store for us.”


	17. The prom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unusually extreme prom... Please, don't repeat this at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first ever fan fiction is finally finished! It was a long but an amazing ride, guys! Thank you for every single comment and kudos you gave me :D They brought me so much happiness and joy and they still do. :) Hope you'll enjoy this last chapter.

All color drained form Adrien’s face the moment he heard the name. His body went weak and tense simultaneously as he was realizing what this information could potentially mean for Marinette. The shocked blond glared back at Lorenzo and asked almost screeching through his clenched teeth:

“Kumarin brothers? Are you absolutely sure?”

Lorenzo nodded.

“I’m sorry, Adrien. I am not aware of the whole thing cause Chloe had never told us anything apart from what we were supposed to do but I saw them talking to her before you arrived, so I’d assume… Listen, just be careful… and… just make sure you know where this girlfriend of yours is at all times. I know it sounds crazy but so is Chloe. Marina told me that that brat said that if she can’t have you, no one else could.”

Marinette… Through all the confusion and the feeling of helplessness he was drowning in right now, Adrien chaotically tried to remember the last time he saw her – she went to a lady’s room about ten minutes ago while he granted that last explicatory dance to Chloe… He hasn’t seen her since and probably more than enough time for a bathroom break had passed already. Marinette should’ve been back by now…

His eyes frantically scanned the crowd searching for something or someone who could help him right now. He didn’t even want to think that it might already be too late… Adrien spotted Alya and Nino in a far end of the room happily chatting about something and rashly headed over to them.

“Do you, guys, know where Marinette is? Did she come back from the lady’s room?”

Alya looked surprised, staring back at his unusually worried face and a shaking voice.

“Didn’t you have some kind surprise for her? Your friends said that you were waiting for her somewhere and took her away about 5 minutes ago.” 

If Adrien could get any more paler he immediately did. 

“My friends? Which ones? How did they look?”

Adrien suspected he knew the answer but a faint hope was still lingering inside of his head only to be squished by his friend’s reply. 

“We don’t know. Never saw them before. They just told us that they were your friends. Twin guys. Big, muscular, model appearances, charming smiles.”

Adrien panicked. 

Photographers and designers alike loved Kumarin twin brothers. Those guys were big, masculine, sexy fellows, charming as hell but even more dangerous. They spend most of their free time either at a gym or at the parties. They liked to party hard and … well, nobody could actually prove anything but the rumors swirled – they liked pretty girls, they liked to lure them away and do whatever they wanted… no consent, no evidence, except a few bruises that were covered up with some make up and flickers of excessive fear in the girl’s eyes the next day forward. Not a single girl came forward so no one could do anything to put those rumors to rest. 

Adrien panicked. His voice cracked.

“Where did they go?”

Both Nino and Alya started to feel uneasy up, tension building up immediately. 

“We don’t know. They headed up the stairs but this hotel is huge… Adrien, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Adrien closed his eyes and tightened hard his fists trying to control the anger that was rising fast in his soul. He needed to do something but first he needed to think. All of the sounds around him suddenly merged into a single static sound that buzzed and didn’t let him concentrate. His friends weren’t helping by franticly trying to get an explanation out of him, shaking his shoulders and asking… asking something. But he didn’t listen anymore. He almost didn’t hear anything… He couldn’t… Instead, the boy opened his eyes and scanned the room looking for her. At that moment Adrien knew that there was only one thing he could do. His eyes were locked on Chloe.  
_____________________________________

It was supposed to rain. The sky was sunless and gray clouds glided over Paris since morning. The weather forecast promised a thunderstorm closer to the evening.

“Well, at least we’ll be inside.” – sighed Alya. “I believe, Le Grand Paris has a non-leaking roof, so we should be fine.”

The girls were already ready for the evening. They spend most of their day preparing for one of the grandest events in their life so far. Hair, make-up, dressing up, accessories, don’t forget father’s delicious lunch and a loving mother’s touch… By the agreed time both girls were looking amazing. Alya sparkled in her warm, yellow, floor-length gown. It remotely resembled the dresses Greek goddesses wore in all those fancy movies but only more modern and exquisite, decorated with some pretty sparkling bead crystals. After all Marinette had a fashion sense and knew her designing and sewing too well for her age. For herself the girl created a deep red, just below the knee, A-line dress with lace shoulder sleeves and a few embroidered black, floral ornaments. With a couple of sparkling accessories it looked like a very simple yet posh design at the same time and Marinette pulled it amazingly. Her skin sparkled in a contrast and created an illusion of a light glow that made the girl look even more fresh and beautiful than she already was. Both girls let their hair down but did splurged on expensive Swarovski ornamental hairpins to finish up their looks.

Marinette’s eyes were locked on a window. Even though, from time to time the girl did worried a little bit about their planned Chloe confrontation today, she was too happy and excited to let that small detail spoil her mood. If rain couldn’t do it, Chloe didn’t stand a chance. Adrien and her were supposed to become an official couple today and all those secrets and lies would finally be behind. That was the main event that overshadowed everything else. She felt peaceful.

“The guys are here, Alya. We should go down.”

Her friend grinned.

“Let’s go have some fun, girl! And officially tie that boy of yours to you.”  
______________________________________________

“You are gorgeous, Princess” – Adrien whispered into her ear about five minutes after he first saw her. His sudden but not so surprising loss of a speech caused by his girlfriend’s appearance lasted roughly until they were already getting into a car. Up to that moment all he could do was to either nod or shake his head. Marinette knew how to make him speechless and today she was a true master of her skill. The boy was absolutely and utterly destroyed.

“Not bad yourself, Adrien.” – she giggled blushing. 

The ride to the prom was short but incredibly fun and loud... Never mind Nino who was scrupulously checking out every little detail and excitedly pointing out every single thing he never thought a limo would have. Don’t pay attention to Alya who was emotionally commenting on how her scheming and plotting to get her friends into a relationship had finally paid off. And you could definitely ignore giggling and even snorting sometimes Marinette from all the commotion that their classmates created. If you do that, you’ll be left with one lovesick Adrien who was the only one keeping quiet all the way peacefully holding his Lady’s hand in his own and lovingly not taking his eyes full of adoration of her. A small, dreamy smile on his lips.

Just before they pulled to Le Grand Paris Mari leaned over and whispered quietly making sure that no one else could hear:

“So what are we doing in regards of Chloe?”

Adrien frowned and shrugged his shoulders being reminded of not so pleasant business he was supposed to deal with today.

“Let me talk to her first and we’ll go from there.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“We are here to have fun, Princess. Hopefully, we’ll have just that.”

“You, guys are disgusting!” – Nino snorted interrupting them in their small little bubble.

“And you are jealous” – Adrien smirked lightheartedly before everyone erupted into laughs.  
____________________________________

 

“Adrinkins! You’ve finally arrived!”

A loud shout carried over all the noise as soon as the pair stepped into the room. Chloe Bourgeois. The girl was never the one to give up easily; she wouldn’t miss her chance, no mater how tiny it was and she was already getting through the crowd to them carelessly pushing aside everyone who stood on her way.

“I’ve been waiting for you, my silly little cutie-pie. Let’s go, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends you haven’t met yet.”

Before Chloe even finished her sentence her hand was already wrapped around Adrien’s free arm and, ignoring the fact that with his other one the boy was holding Marinette, she started to tug him away. The blond girl tried to pull him away a couple of times before realizing that Adrien wasn’t moving an inch. Mayor’s daughter turned around and cued:

“What’s wrong, Adrinkins?”

Adrien’s lips pressed together into a thin line.

“I am not alone, Chloe, and you know it.”

The girl’s eyelashes erupted into an innocent flapping as she was trying to cuddle up to Adrien.

“Oh… yes, I know… but I was hoping that even though you came with those…” – she scornfully glanced over at Marinette. “We could still have some fun together. After all you are my best friend…”

Chloe’s lashes continued to seductively play their part and someone who didn’t really know the girl could even consider her pout cute but by now Adrien has had enough with his childhood friend. Yes, she was his only friend since he could remember and he knew that she was flawed big time but until recent events the boy stubbornly refused to severe his ties with her for the sake of their childhood friendship. However, her recent actions changed his mind. A true friend wouldn’t want to hurt the other. No one could call himself his friend and try to take the one person who he loved more than anything away from him. No one! Not even Chloe.

Trying hard to keep calm Adrien promptly removed Chloe’s hand from his arm and replied a little colder than usual:

“I’m sorry, Chloe, but I’m here with my girlfriend and we want to spend this evening together.”

Chloe froze. Her eyes were confusingly shifting between the blond model and smiling blue-eyed designer. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“Your g…irl…friend?”

Adrien smiled and slowly kissed the knuckles of Marinette’s hand.

“Yes, Chloe. Marinette is my girlfriend. So I suggest you to get used to the idea.”

Seeing the expressions of anger, confusion and helplessness merge together on Chloe’s face, Adrien saluted the blond girl goodbye and taking Marinette under her arms started to walk away but as soon as he turned away Chloe grabbed his hand again.

“Adrien… Then promise me just one dance… as for a friend?”

The boy questioningly looked at Marinette before whispering something into her ear. The girl didn’t look excited but nodded.

“Ok, Chloe. One dance but I’ll find you, not the other way around.”  
______________________________________

The evening was great. The music filled the room and everyone had fun dancing around and socializing. Emotions ran wild as kids finally realized that for some of them it would be the last time they see each other so everyone took as much as they could from the evening. About two hours into the prom Marinette and Adrien decided to take a little break. The boy took his girl’s hand and leaded her away from the crowd.

“Would you like some refreshments, My Lady?”

“Maybe later, kitty. You know what? I’ll go to the lady’s room and if you still have any strength maybe you can deal with Chloe meanwhile? I don’t really want to watch her throwing herself all over my boyfriend while you explain the boundaries to her.”

“Oh, are you jealous, Princess?”

“You wish, Kitty Cat! I just don’t like how she behaves herself around you, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry, Marinette. I told you - I’ll use this time to let her know that we are aware of her schemes and that they are useless because you are in my heart forever and I will never love anyone but my Lady.”

“You are so cheesy, Adrien.”

“But you love it, Princess.”

“Hm, maybe I do… a little… but probably only if your remarks are followed by the equally cheesy actions…” 

“My affections are NOT cheesy, Princess. I love you earnestly.”

She slowly leaned and lightly kissed his cheek.

“Of course you do. I’ll be gone no more than 5 minutes and hopefully you’ll be done with her by then too. Ok?”

“I will be impatiently awaiting your return and dread every minute I have to dance with someone else, My Lady.”  
_____________________________________________

When Marinette was gone Adrien quickly found Chloe and invited her for a dance. Unsurprisingly, the girl wasn’t dancing with anyone and one could even speculate that she wasn’t dancing at all the whole evening because she was waiting for Adrien. When he found her she talking to some people, nobody that he knew, walking around the room…

As soon as their dance started (and it happened to be a slow one to Adrien’s grave annoyance) Chloe was leaning all over the model. The girl started to talk and she talked and talked and talked… not giving the boy even the slightest moment to intercede. Most of her speech Adrien was simply ignoring until he heard a familiar name.

“Tell me honestly, Adrinkins, do you really think that a commoner like Marinette Dupain-Cheng can ever be enough for you? I am not saying that she isn’t good or anything, but her upbringing, her culture, her way of life or even her moral standards are just way too different from ours. You might be having fun right now because Marinette is not like anyone you knew before but in a long run you need someone suitable for you and your social standing. She won’t be able to adjust, to deal with all the pressure and publicity that will come with dating you. And I’m absolutely sure that she’ll eventually cheat on you when she’ll meet someone richer or more profitable…”

Adrien smirked. Chloe was too straightforward sometimes and it looked like she wasn’t willing to let him go any time soon. He needed to be just as straightforward with her then too.

“Marinette and I have more in common than anyone else I know, Chloe. I love her and…” he paused for a few seconds just to find the right words. “… and your little tricks won’t break us apart so I’ll repeat my suggestion one more time – get used to the idea, Chloe, and quit making troubles if our friendship has any value in your eyes.”

She didn’t even flinched or moved out of ordinary. Not a single muscle in her body tensed up. Absolutely no reaction. Nothing. Chloe simply continued to dance.

“I have no idea what are you talking about, Adrien. As you are well aware of, I found out that you two are dating only today. What tricks could I’ve done if I didn’t even know you have a girlfriend? Whatever happened between you two – leave me out of it. I was too busy with the prom organization anyway.”

Adrien sighed sadly. She was a good actress. Very experienced. Well, he let her know the situation and if it won’t work, they’ll deal with her latter.

“Don’t be offended, Chloe. I am just warning, nothing else. Just in case.”

The song was almost over and the boy eagerly anticipated the end so he could break free and get back to Marinette but Chloe wouldn’t give up till the last second.

“Still, Adrien, I wouldn’t be so sure about that baker’s daughter. Just look over there, you left her for one dance and she already found herself a new toy.” 

Adrien knew immediately what he was going to see if he would follow her gaze but he was kind of surprised - he didn’t expected Chloe to go forward with her scheme even after he asked her to stop. Adrien smirked. He turned around to look into the direction Chloe pointed and sure enough there was Lorenzo gracefully gliding through the floor with “Marinette”.

“Nice work, Chloe. She looks exactly like Marinette. Same dress, same hair… Did you hire a private investigator to find out the details of her outfit beforehand or was it all Sabrina as always?”

Chloe pouted resentfully. 

“Come, Adrien. Why would I do that? I don’t need to do anything to beat a rival like her…”

She couldn’t finish her self-defense because the song stopped and Adrien immediately pulled away, bowed down and turned to leave, completely ignoring Chloe’s pleas for just five more minutes together. 

“I’m sorry but I have to go back to Marinette, Chloe. Wish you to have a nice evening.”

Adrien turned away for a second time and started walking towards Lorenzo when someone caught his arm again in a familiar, clinging manner. The boy groaned, turned back and saw his blond classmate looking at him with her begging eyes.

“Adrien… please… why do you want her… when you have me?”

The boy sighed and took Chloe’s arm away.

“Because I love her, Chloe. She is everything to me that you, unfortunately, never was and never will be. Just let it go already.”  
_______________________________________________

Adrien thought about going straight to look for Marinette but she was nowhere in his sight and his curiosity was driving him crazy. Right now he had a chance to finally look at a girl who became a reason for so many misunderstanding in the last week… He had a chance to finally ask Lorenzo what forced him to play along with Chloe… He was finally able to tell them to stop. His decision was immediate and once Adrien reached Lorenzo he lightly tapped his shoulder to get the boy’s attention.

“Hey Lorenzo, care to spare me a moment for me?”

Adrien threw a quick look at “Marinette” and smirked. She was wearing almost exact dress (which was probably a pain in the butt to copy since real Marinette designed and sew her own dress). The girl had the same hairstyle and had remotely similar facial features covered with a lot of make up to make her look somewhat look alike with his girlfriend. Nevertheless, Adrien recognized her easily – Marina, a new girl in their company, outgoing, immigrated somewhere from East Europe and didn’t have a lot of potential but was willing to go an extra step for her success. No wonder they were careful to not show Marina’s full face or get her close to him at any time, Adrien would’ve recognized her right away.

Lorenzo sighed and nodded.

“Guess, I don’t have a choice… do I, Adrien?”

“You always have a choice, Lorenzo, but I won’t bite, all I want is a little of explanation. That’s all.”

They walked away to a corner to have a little more privacy leaving Marina alone. Bypassing all the pleasantries, Adrien decided to go straight to the subject. 

“So how did she force you to do it, Lorenzo?”

Adrien looked at his coworker’s face point blank and continued:

“And denying is useless. You and your “Marinette” fooled me to some degree but not enough to reached the goal. You should’ve counted in the equation the real Marinette too. So?”

Lorenzo looked dejected. His eyes were desperately looking around for something that’ll help him to escape, to somehow avoid confession, but not finding anything that could help him, he answered:

“She has something really bad on me, Adrien. She said, I’ll lose my job, my career and I couldn’t let this happen. I worked too hard for everything I have, man. I don’t have a mighty father like you do to shield me and warrant my future, Adrien. I have to work my butt off for every single thing and Chloe can ruin it with one word. All she wanted in exchange for keeping quiet is to make you believe that I was dating some girl named Marinette from your class. I don’t even know why and who she is. Marina was in charge of getting into the image so I didn’t bother with the details.”

“Marinette is my girlfriend” – harshly commented Adrien not taking his eyes of the other guy. Lorenzo sighed deflating.

“I should’ve known and I’m sorry for whatever I did, Adrien, but, please, try to understand me too - I can’t let your love issues or Chloe’s jealousy to destroy my carrier and my future.”

The model’s face was red and tensed. He clutched his fists and was looking straight into Adrien’s eyes with his own, full of determination and fire but nonetheless on a brick of desperation and tears. Something tightened into Adrien’s chest. At that moment he felt sorry for the guy. He was right – he didn’t have anyone here in Paris and he did overwork himself often. Adrien was a first-hand witness of how sometimes when Lorenzo was only starting out he was juggling 5 photo shoots a day that paid him next to nothing only because he wasn’t a well-known name. Thanks to his hard work and determination, Lorenzo’s position was much better now but that was, probably, also on a very shaky ground if he was willing to slave for Chloe. He averted his gaze and looked into the distance.

“At least tell me if there is anything else Chloe planned that I should be aware of.”

Distressed model looked away, clenching his teeth, obviously struggling inside while scanning the room. After a short while he turned back with a determined look in his eyes.

“Is that girl really that amazing and special to you?”

As a thought of her crossed Adrien’s mind his eyes filled with warmth immediately and he smiled softly.

“She is absolutely amazing and nothing like Chloe if you can imagine. I’d say she’s miraculous.”

Lorenzo sighed and whispered almost soundlessly looking into the floor.

“Kumarin brothers…”

Adrien went pale.  
______________________________________________

He could run though the hotel and check every single room, but Adrien knew that it would only make it worse and he would lose valuable time. He could transform and try something as Chat Noir but what good will he be if he doesn’t even know where to find them. Plus he’ll give away his secret identity. The only logically effective thing he could think of right now was to go straight to the source.

Adrien walked over and grabbed Chloe’s wrist in his hand, squeezing as hard as he could, seething through his teeth.

“Where. Is. She?”

The blond girl frowned and started to make grimaces as if he was torturing her.

“Adrien, you are hurting me. Let me go.”

He narrowed his eyes, glared back at her and repeated:

“Where. Is. Marinette?”

Chloe unsuccessfully tried to snatched her hand back while whining.

“How should I know where you little trump is? Let me go!”

Adrien squeezed her wrist even harder. He wasn’t going to buy Chloe’s excuses. By this time he knew her better than to believe everything she said. Chloe was determined when she wanted something. She was so determined that sometimes she went to her goals over everyone’s heads. She didn’t consider the cost or the consequences. She always had her father to protect her at the end. 

Right now it looked like she wanted to hurt Marinette more than anything for taking away from her something that she has never had in a first place but desired nevertheless. Her determination was shocking to him but Adrien knew better. The only thing that could stop her right now was the thing she loved the most, even more than him – herself. The boy knew that very well from the experiences of their years together. Over the years he noticed that Chloe backed down only if the end result will personally hurt her more than she was willing to accept. She would better give up her crazy dream of Adrien than to allow her revenge to permanently stain her reputation.

The whisper escaped his mouth in the coldest and angriest way someone ever heard him.

“I will count till 5, Chloe, and then I’ll stand on that stage and will tell everyone what you did and ask every present here person to help me find Marinette. There are hundreds of people and we will find her eventually. Do you think people will like what they would find? Especially since I have witnesses who will testify that it was your idea…”

Shocked Chloe’s stared back. She had never seen Adrien so mad as he was now. She had never seen so much anger and determination in his eyes. She took one more chance.

“No one will believe you, Adrien… You wouldn’t do that to me…”

“1”

“Adrien, I don’t know…”

“2”

“Why would you want her, Adrien? She is…”

“3”

Chloe’s eyes were full off tears by now and lips quivered as she was trying her last resort tricks.

“Adrien, please…”

“4”

He glared her down. Chloe bowed her head and breathed out a single word in a defeat.

“Roof”  
_____________________________________________

The sky was dark and cloudy. It wasn’t raining yet but he could smell the rain in the air. Thunder and lighting split the sky in an electric, shocking flash when Adrien was opening the door to the roof of Le Grand Paris. His heart raced a million miles per hour and the only though in his head as he was sprinting up the stairs was that he wouldn’t be late. He knew that even though Marinette was Ladybug, she wouldn’t risk her identity to save herself. She would surely try to fight them but she wasn’t strong enough physically to deal with two big guys alone. The only thing he wished right now was that he wouldn’t be too late… 

He wasn’t. Darkness covered the roof but he could clearly see Marinette in a far corner trying to fight off one of the brothers with some stick-like thing in her hands. The other guy was crouching on a floor nearby groaning. Her eyes were full of fire and a light smirk graced her strong-willed face almost successfully hiding the tension and worry. Almost successfully… but not completely… and not from Adrien who knew her expressions better than his own. 

“I hope, I am not too late for a party, Princess.” – the boy shouted letting her know that he was here. 

One of the brothers turned around startled and frowned obviously disappointed. They didn’t expect company, especially not the son of their employer. Chloe had never mentioned why she wanted them to teach the girl a lesson and they didn’t bother to ask details receiving their generous reward. They would’ve think twice if they’d knew that Adrien Agreste would be involved. They always were extremely careful in their adventures but it was too late to think about it now. Was it?

“Not at all, kitty. Join the party.” – Marinette replied while taking the advantage of the guy’s distraction and swinging her weapon, successfully breaking away to a safe distance from the attacker. 

Adrien came closer from behind not taking his eyes from a momentary confused and startled by an unwanted and unexpected addition Kumarin.

“Having troubles with the guests, my love?” – he continued, hoping to win some more time and worked out a strategy.

“A little. I told them that the party was over but they wouldn’t leave. Could you explain it to them more clearly, honey?”

Their almost playful banter completely baffled both brothers. The one standing turned around and shouted at the other brother to stop whining and come help him. He did… but Adrien could see that he was in extreme pain. The blond smiled to himself – his Princess wasn’t so helpless in her civilian self as he dared to think. Now he’d have to prove that he wasn’t a weakling himself.

The next couple of minutes were a blur. Kumarin brothers were strong and mostly used their raw, blunt power of the muscles but Adrien and Marinette had a lot of experience of how to defeat an enemy without the necessary use of their physical strength. After all, they defeated most of the akumas by random lucky charms - small trinkets, something sometimes so unusual that it would seem impossible to serve the goal; plus the duo was much more flexible and faster than the two bodybuilders. In most instances during their encounter neither Marinette nor Adrien even had to directly touch their opponents, all they had to do is to make sure to be in a right place at the right time, lean over or push a little and the punch directed at Adrien or Marinette was landing on one of the other brother. In a matter of minutes the two mountains of muscles lay on a floor exhausted and beat up by each other, ready to pass out. 

A little out of breath but relieved that they finally were safe, Adrien run up to Marinette and pulled her to his chest desperately clutching her petite frame in his arm. He buried his head in her hair and closed his eyes trying to calm down. The boy could feel against his exposed skin her breath and heartbeat to slow down to a normal level. Marinette was safe and that was all that mattered right now. His only thought at that moment was that he would never let her go again, not even for a second. She was too precious, too vital for him. He would always protect her.

Marinette hugged him back, gently rubbing his back, whispering softly into his ear.

“Everything is alright, Adrien. Everything is fine. We are safe now.”

Warm tears escaped his eyes and the boy just squeezed her harder, lifting up his head a little, just enough for him to breathe with a shaking voice.

“I was so scared, Marinette… I thought that I could be late… I thought that they could…”

Marinette pulled away and gently looked into his emerald eyes. Her hands brushed away his disheveled hair and softly wiped his still rolling tears. Her whispering voice reached his ears right after she smiled.

“That would’ve never happened, Adrien. I knew you’d come to save me. You are always saving me. I trust you with my life no matter what costume you are in – black leather or a tuxedo. Didn’t you forget that you are my knight in a shining armor, kitty cat.”

“I love you so much, Marinette.” – he breathed out, leaning in closer. Her eyes closed as he was kissing her softly and earnestly. Just to make sure that she was still here and she was still his. Just to make sure she wasn’t just a cruel dream that could disappear at any time. Just to make sure that she was safe. Just to let her know how much he loved her.

“I love you too, Adrien.”  
____________________________________

The first thing that Adrien did when they came down to the prom venue was to find Chloe and coldly shake her hand. To say that the blond brat was startled it’s to say nothing. She expected everything but this. However, before she could even express her surprise the boy pulled away his arm just as quickly as he started the whole thing. 

“I just wanted to say thank you, Chloe. You taught me a valuable lesson and I think that this was a nice present from you for the end of our friendship.”

Chloe just dumbly blinked at him.

“What are you talking about, Adrien? What lesson? The end of our friendship?”

Adrien sadly nodded. His eyes were full of sadness and regret. Regret – because he wasted so many years on her. Sadness – because it’s always hard to break the friendship of an only friend you had your whole life, even if that friend was such a jerk as Chloe was. However, he had to do something – Chloe went too far this time. That was something he couldn’t just forget and forgive.

“You taught me to always trust Marinette, Chloe. Always. Trust her even if everyone, including me, says the opposite. Thank you for that. And… do you really expect me to stay your friend after what you planned to do?”

She stared back at him unapologetically, clenching her teeth together in an apparent anger. Chloe seemed to be not a bit sorry for anything… She looked just extremely disappointed and Adrien hoped that it was because he was breaking up their weird relationship and not because she failed to separate him and Marinette. Was he right? He’ll never know and maybe, just maybe he thought he’d rather not find out. 

“Goodbye, Chloe.”

He turned into the opposite direction and silently walked away ignoring angry, accusing cries of a girl he was leaving behind.  
______________________________________

Adrien was walking towards his Marinette. She waited for him at the bottom of the stairs softly smiling. She sparkled and shined in a bright light of a venue. She was amazing and beautiful. He’ll move mountains for her because she was his whole world, his everything. 

The next day at work a rumor would start to circulate that Kumarin brothers were arrested and jailed until a trial for a sexual assault. The main evidence would be an anonymous donation of security tape recordings by a concerned employee from Le Grand Paris. Police would contact both Marinette and Adrien. At first Marinette wouldn’t want anything to do with them but after a thoughtful talk with Adrien and a detective working on a case she would decide to get involved if only to try stopping them from hurting other girls who weren’t as lucky as she was. Not long after Marinette would officially press charges a couple of other girls would come forward with their own accusations followed by some witnesses of their crimes. The trial would be sensational and ugly because the name of Chloe Bourgeois would stubbornly keep coming up in Kumarin brother’s testimonies, soiling hers and her father’s reputation. This time the mayor would be unable to save his only daughter from the justice.

Lorenzo would also endure his own scandal. In revenge Chloe would release the info he was so afraid of or maybe just to make herself feel better – she wasn’t the only one who was going down. The model would be about to get fired from Agreste but at the last moment that decision would revoked and he would given only a warning. The next time Lorenzo would see Adrien he would thank him. The blond would only reply a couple of words before walking away. 

“I hope, you’ll take something useful from this whole situation, Lorenzo. I did it only because you helped me save Marinette at the last moment too. Clean up your act if you want to succeed because the next time I won’t be there.”

Marina would suddenly quit her job and go back to her home country. She would never be heard of in a fashion world again. Nobody would ever find out why she would ran away like that but most people would suspect that she just got scared.

But for now the prom was still in a full swing and Marinette was standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him. 

The second thing Adrien did after their return was to dance a waltz with Marinette. He suffered so much for that damn dance! He was jealous, angry, broke up with the love of his life and almost died - all because his girlfriend wanted to be perfect at dancing with him. Adrien couldn’t afford or wanted her efforts to go to waste after all of that and, boy, she didn’t disappoint. She was good. They gracefully glided across the room attracting all the attention from more awkward couples who stopped to watched them almost soar above the floor. They looked perfect together. When the music stopped all eyes were on the pair and that’s when he did his third thing…

The third thing Adrien did was to lean in and passionately kiss Marinette in front of everyone, to let the world know that she was his and he was hers, to become an official couple. Loud sounds of applause and whistling filled the room as their excited classmates cheered them on. A few flashes blinked around the room so no one was surprised when the next day a photo of their kiss appeared in a few magazines under the title “One of the hottest bachelors of Paris Adrien Agreste is off the market, ladies! Who is the lucky winner?”

Despite all the commotion that their very public kiss created, at that moment only one thing really mattered for both Adrien and Marinette - although, not everything was perfect and went smoothly all the time, they were still together. Sure, each of them had their issues but they’ve worked through them. Thanks to their experiences they didn’t expect the future to be perfect all the time but rather full of new trials, tricks and heartbreaks. And they also knew that as long as they loved and trusted each other the superhero duo would be just fine. 

But for now, Adrien was just happy to be kissing his lovely Princess in front of all his friends in a center of the Le Grand Paris. His heart was shuttered multiply times through the years but she was the only one who could heal his broken heart. Marinette was more than he could ever hoped for - she was essential for him just as he was for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love happy endings! Hope you loved it too :)

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. This is a fan function.


End file.
